


Hooked on a Feeling

by kodaandorion



Category: CrankGameplays - Fandom, Game Grumps, jacksepticeye, markiplier - Fandom
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, College AU, Comedy, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Happy, Highschool AU, Humor, M/M, Multi, Recreational Drug Use, tags will be updated as i write this
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-08-03
Updated: 2017-10-07
Packaged: 2018-12-09 01:48:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 29,300
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11659074
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kodaandorion/pseuds/kodaandorion
Summary: Danny's report card has always read something along the lines of "a bright student but needs to talk more". He stays at the back of classes and observes through music out of his headphones.And then one day, he takes them off and finds himself captivated in the likes of the school's biggest troublemaker Arin Hanson. It all goes uphill from there, as he finds himself whirled away on an adventure with his new friend, gaining more on the way.But behind the relationship drama, exciting antics and drunken parties lies darker conspiraces. Not everything is golden for everyone, especially in the "peaceful" seaside town of Willowshore Bay...





	1. Lake Shore Drive

**Author's Note:**

> Hi there, thanks for taking an interest in my story! This is my first story here and I really hope you enjoy it.
> 
> The story here if it wasn't really made clear in the description: Dan is about a month into his first term of college, and spends his time smoking weed in his bedroom and listening to music. Eventually he meets Arin, another stoner and the school's most rebellious kid and they end up going on adventures together. I really like the idea of Arin being this troublemaker at a school, so I wanted to write something like that.
> 
> A side note: I know this takes places in the USA, but I have no idea what the school system is like there, so I'm basing this off what my college is like in the country I live in. This takes place at an imaginary location, a sort of seaside town that's a few miles off a huge city.
> 
> Enjoy the story!

_My name is Dan Avidan, and ever since I was a little boy I wanted to be a singer. I recently moved out of New Jersey to study at Westview Academy and peruse my career in music. I thought I'd make a diary to write about everything that happens to me here, so hopefully one day I can look back on this and have great memories. Well, that was my intention... but admittedly, despite the awesome views and interesting lectures, I haven't made many friends yet. I don't have a roommate in my dorm, and I haven't met anyone who has the same interests as me. But then I guess that's my fault for always having my headphones on, unless I'm in class. I should probably try to make friends... but I don't know if there's anyone here who's got similar interests to me. Everyone here just seems to have major clichés - the popular kids, the stoner skaters, the emo group, the nerdy Dungeons and Dragons players... I'm just in the middle, existing. Still, it could be worse! At least I've not had to deal with bully jocks or get stabbed by the punk-rock fans._

Dan closed his diary and pushed his book back into his rucksack, and stood stretching. Morning sunlight was filtering into the curtains, slowly lighting the room up to reveal a snazzy dorm room. It was decorated with a lot of musical artists album covers in frames, with the odd one signed; an album from _Steel Panther_ was even signed for Dan. His vinyl player was standing on his dresser, with his leather jacket draped over it after it had been lazily discarded after arriving back to his room. The TV was still on the main menu screen for _The Last Unicorn_ \- so _that_ was what he was doing last night... all that pot smoking had left his mind still buzzing. Had he really smoked an 1/8th to himself again? It was his fifth night running. Shaking his head blearily, he moved over to his pet cactus.

"How's it going, King Prick? Still hanging in there?"

The cactus didn't move nor say anything. It was never much of a talker.

"Love you too, buddy."

Dan turned off the TV, shouldered his jacket and backpack. On went the headphones, and he strolled out the door on his way to class.

On his way, he considered the words his mother had once spoke to him many years ago when he first started 'big school'. _Don't lose yourself in your world of music, Dan, because one day you might meet somebody whose personality might sing the most beautiful songs but you'll be too absorbed in your own to hear._ He had found these words wise at the time but never really believed them. Well, there had been a lingering hope that he'd have the classic modern-day era romance story to tell his kids when he was older. "I met your mother/father at college - it was at a huge party, and they were drinking beer out of a plastic cup in the garden staring at the stars. I fell in love with them the moment I saw them - I knew they were the one." But it was all fairy-tale bullshit, really. People in this college just seemed bland and boring. The same news, the same gossip, the same everything passed on each day.

Dan tried not to brood on it too long. It was hard to when he had some up-beat 80s hits on. _Lake Shore Drive_ was an absolute classic.

He arrived at his Media class early. He watched his peers loiter around the classroom, unpacking and talking. It was the beginning of the school year and a month had passed since it began. Everyone was settled in their new environment, knew the teachers and already wrapped up in homework assignments. So it struck Dan with surprise to see a new, nervous face among the crowd. He had his fingers absent-mindedly running through his dark brown hair, and had a growing beard round his square jaw. His green eyes were gently going through the textbook in front of him, reading with half-hearted interest.

"Alright, alright." Mr. Roberts, the Media professor called out, entering the class with his laptop bag slung round his shoulder. His warm brown hair had a small ponytail in today, a new feature, which made one of the popular girls at the front sigh dreamily. "Let's get this going. Hey, Brad - good game last night, but you're not in my class so scram. Are you supposed to be out practicing?"

"No, sir - let me hang here, I won't make a noise."

"Have you got Maths again? I told you, if you don't like it then go tell the student services instead of skipping! Now bounce, or I'll get Mr. Barker round myself to drag you into class."

Brad promptly left, waving goodbye to his friend. Mr. Roberts sighed and said, "Alright. Can I move this class on now?"

Dan had taken off his headphones, considering to switch to earphones to hide them better (Dan had never really taken much interest in Media, but he'd only picked that so he could get out of doing Science class. It was going to be easy enough anyways, right? Just watch a film trailer and say what camera angle it was, read a newspaper and complain about capitalism?).

"Not yet! Waaaait!"

Another new figure burst into the classroom, panting and gripping his chest. He was a large man, with chestnut brown hair with a sweeping blonde streak in it. He stood straight and grinned, his dark brown eyes sparkling. Dan watched with interest, making no movement towards his earphones.

"Ah," Mr. Roberts said, almost disappointed, "You must be Mr. Hanson."

The newcomers winked at him, and gave a two-fingered salute to the class. "That's me, Arin Hanson. The one, the only, the legend."

"Sorry, who are you?" one of the girls called out, and her friend snickered.

"I'm the guy who does his job, you must be the other guy."

A few people giggled and the girl clenched her teeth. Arin slyly grinned. A guy that quotes movies? Dan already liked this rebellious strapper.

"I'm going to pretend I heard none of that," Mr. Roberts scowled, "Hanson, take a seat. No, not near those girls - why don't you sit near the back? Next to him - what's your name?" He clicked his fingers in Dan's direction. Dan blinked in astonishment and stuttered, "D-Dan."

"Dan. Go sit near him."

Arin shrugged and went to the empty table, taking a seat nearby. He gave a nod and a flashing smile at Dan, who smiled back. Dan only put one ear-bud in.

Five minutes into the lecture, Arin was already bored. He began very quietly, but noticeably, tapping his foot against the leg of the table, and a girl with pink-ish hair started to glare into the back of Arin's skull in annoyance, jaw clenched. Her friend - boyfriend, maybe? - rustled slightly in his chair, gaining Arin's attention. His bright blue eyes flashed, and began to tap too ever so slightly louder. Arin grinned, taking on the challenge.

"Whoever's tapping, could you cut it out?" Mr. Roberts said. The tapping stopped after he said the first word and Arin looked dramatically around the classroom.

"Tapping?" Arin asked innocently.

"Was it you?"

Arin gasped and leant back in his chair melodramatically. He was really in his element. He looked absolutely offended. "Me! Sir, I beg your pardon. I didn't hear a tapping. Did you?" He looked over towards Dan, eyebrows raised. Dan's cheeks flushed pink and he shrugged. "I-I guess not..."

"I didn't either, sir," said Arin's challenger. The girl next to him quietly sighed.

Mr. Roberts continued the class, eyeing Arin suspiciously. Arin just smiled innocently and turned to Dan. "Thanks there, buddy."

"No problem?"

Arin threw back his hair and smiled. "So, I guess if we're going to be sitting next to each other for the next two years then we should get to know each other. What's your name?"

"Dan. Er, Dan Avidan."

"You interested in Media?" Arin asked, stretching in his seat.

"No. I just didn't want to study Physics."

Arin chuckled. "I hear that. I'm only here to study animation and art and shit, I'm not interested in fucking newspapers."

He said that bit a little loudly and Mr. Roberts caught him with a sharp eye. "Care to repeat that, Hanson?"

"Sure thing, pal. I'm not interested in hecking newspapers."

The class giggled a little. Mr. Roberts shook his head and replied, "Now now, Arin. Was that _really_ what you said?"

"Don't patronize me. We can't say swears in here sir, you'd know that the most here - there's little kids." He jerked his head to the girls, who scowled and shook their heads. Mr. Roberts groaned and carried on. Arin laughed and whispered to Dan, "This school is already in my grips."

Dan summoned all the courage he had. "You, er... I haven't seen you around college before. You new?"

"Ya huh. I went to a different school, but they kicked me out because I beat up this kid who tried to stab me. Kicked his skinny ass to the ground in 5 seconds and left him crying on the ground."

"Are you serious?"

"Of course not. I just moved away, is all."

"He's new too," Dan whispered, nodding to the other new face in the group. The dark-brown haired teenager was day-dreaming idly, drawing in his notepad.

"Oh yeah?" Arin said, "Did he not get a snazzy introduction like me? Aw. Hey, what you listening to? I can see your earphone, it's obvious as shit."

"Oh. Whoops." He tucked the wire underneath his jacket. Arin stared inquisitively and Dan, then eventually said, "Not gonna answer my question?"

"What? Oh, sorry. Uh, it's nothing really... just..."

Arin grabbed an earphone and listened. He was listening to _Hooked on a Feeling_ by Blue Swede. He beamed and nodded his head to the beat, making Dan's humiliated blush fade and smile. He had expected to be made fun of, but this guy actually liked it.

"You got some sweet music tastes!" Arin grinned, pulling away, "You're rad. This dude is rad. We should hang sometime."

The bell rung and Arin jumped out his seat with a flashy grin. "I'm outta here. Dan, dude - hook up with me today at some point, you're a cool guy." He nodded towards the other new kid and added quietly, "And bring him along too."

"What?"

"Later, losers!" He yelled, jumping over a table and kicking the door open. Mr. Roberts sighed and turned to Dan. "Did he bother you at all?"

"Not at all, sir."

Dan lingered at his table, watching the other boy slowly pack away. Eventually, after summoning the courage, he walked over to his table and smiled warmly. "Hi there. I'm Dan Avidan. I saw you sitting alone, and I usually sit on my own so I thought - maybe we'd have something in common... you know?"

"That we're both huge loners?" The boy replied. He smiled and stuck out his hand. "I'm Barry. Kramer. Barry Kramer, that is. That's my, er... full name. So... what do you get up to on weekends?"

"Truth?"

"Truth, I guess."

"I sit in my bed, smoke pot and either play _Morrowind_ for 9 hours straight or binge whatever looks shit on Netflix whilst eating through takeaway pizza or ice-cream in its tub. What about you?"

"Minus the pot - exactly the same." Barry smiled cheerfully at Dan. "I think we're gonna get along well. If you want to be friends."

"Hell yeah."

The pair wandered out outside, chatting and getting to know each other. Barry wanted a career in video editing, and whilst waiting for the Media class to start studying it he did small freelancing jobs for companies and indie film-makers. He was a lot like Dan - didn't go out much, spent way too much time playing video games and had the dream goal of watching every single film on IMBD's top 100.

They went round the corner together and saw a small crowd gathered round two students. One of them was a girl Dan saw occasionally around campus, who had black hair with a long blonde streak going through and a very pretty round face. She was being accosted by Sidney Hickman, the school's rich kid. He lived on an estate with a large family, and since they had sponsored the school the headmaster had been very friendly with him. His grades were high and was destined for great fortune - even though he probably couldn't tell his own head from his ass. Barry and Dan waited on the sidelines, watching with interest at them yell.

"- should be a privilege for you, to be roomed with me! I've taken you out for dinner so many damn times, but you just wanna be with that dumbass freak all the time!"

"He's not a dumbass, shut up! We're seeing each other, and if you've got a problem -"

" - you bet I have -"

"- then pack up your shit and leave me alone!"

"Fine! Fuck you! I will! I'm gonna get my father - he's gonna kick you out the dorm room. I'll get roomed with someone else."

"Fine! Don't want to be with you anyways!"

"Good, you fucking bitch!"

"HEY!" A loud voice burst through the crowd and Arin swooned in, putting an arm around the girl. "What you sayin' to my girl Suzy here?"

"I told her she's a bitch."

"That's real fucking funny, Sid - I should remember that when I'm climbing off your Mum."

The crowd laughed and jeered, and Sidney wrinkled his large nose in annoyance. "Don't you speak of my Mother that way."

Arin was egged on by the support from the crowd. "Don't you like it, buddy? Don't like the fact I slipped in my huge, wet penis into her gaping vagina - sliding in and out -"

"Fuck you!" Sid spat on the ground and stormed away, yelling about changing the rooms. The crowd dispersed, disappointed by the lack of physical action but nudging Arin respectfully for his comeback. Through the crowd, Arin spotted Dan and waved him over.

"Check it out, Dan's making friends today!" Arin grinned, "What's yours, man?"

"Uh. Barry."

"Nice. You know me, right? This is Suzy - known her since we were kids."

"You two dating?" Dan asked.

"Kinda," Suzy shrugged, "We're kinda... trying it out."

Dan nodded appreciatively. "Cool."

Arin laughed suddenly. "Aw, you're not bummed because you can't have me, are you?"

"I - er - no? No."

"It's okay, baby. Maybe another time." He winked slyly and Suzy pushed him playfully. He laughed, shaking his head and said, "Do you want to chill for a while? I'm about to meet up with a couple of friends."

"Sure." Dan glanced at Barry, who nodded. They followed them towards a very large tree that was blooming bright red apples. Sitting underneath, shoulder to shoulder, were two dudes. One of them had a square jaw with bright red hair, wearing a sleeveless black hoodie with jeans. Next to him was a pale, skinny guy with green hair. They were chatting together cheerfully; the red-haired one was rolling a spliff, whilst the other scrolled aimlessly on his phone.

"Waddup?" Arin called. The two waved.

"Hey, Suzy," the red-haired guy said, "Arin, who's this pair you brought?"

"Dan and Barry, meet Mark and Jack. Nowhere will you find a gayer couple than these two."

"Hi there," Jack beamed, "Nice to meet ya."

Dan waved a little and Barry said, "Hey there. Are you Irish?"

"Born and bred. I moved to America a few years ago. Best choice ever, ended up being neighbors with this dork and here we are now in the same college."

"I got stuck with this doofus, can you believe my luck?" Mark joked and Jack pouted. "I'm kidding, I love ya really."

The group sat down as Mark finished rolling. Barry piped up a little nervously, "That's just a cigarette, right?"

"Nope," Mark replied, shaking his head, "It's the doobie."

"The devil's lettuce," Arin nodded in agreement, "The disco cabbage."

"The dank. The 420."

"The wacko tobacco."

"The one-way road to disappointing your mother."

"Well, that got dark quick," Arin said, "I guess you don't smoke then, Barry." He shook his head and Arin looked at Dan. "Do you?"

"Yeah."

Arin looked excited. "You do?!"

"I got, like... an ounce back at my pad."

Arin looked ecstatic, like a child at Christmas. He stood up, grabbing Dan by the back of his jacket and pulling him to his feet. "Dude - you really are cool! So cool - Mark, man, we found a new smoking buddy! Let's go toke up together - oh man, oh man."

Dan looked worried. “Here? Is… is that okay? What if security busts us?”

Arin snorted. “Right, because I’m gonna be scared of Richard Cooper. Head of Security my ass, there’s only him and he’s got no experience at all in security-ing. It’s all okay, Dan – if he _does_ come round, we won’t pin it on you or anything. I’ll take the heat.”

The group sat down underneath the tree and the grass around it, chatting and joking and getting to know each other. Arin, Mark and Dan lounged beneath the tree, passing the joint Mark rolled.

“What’s in it?” Dan asked as Mark lit it up, cupping a hand over the joint.

“Just weed,” Mark said, the joint between his teeth, “No tobacco. Can I borrow a light?”

Arin leant over with his own lighter, clicking it on. “Finely grinded lemon haze, the perfect sativa for your marijuana smoking pleasure.” Sativa was a type of species of the plant, making the users feel happy and energetic – it basically meant, in about 10 minutes, the three of them were probably going to be off their nut.

“I also put some kief in it,” Mark said, taking a drag off the joint and blowing out the long white smoke.

“I am not understanding _any_ of these terms,” Jack said, cozying himself under Mark’s arm.

Arin flicked back his head proudly. “That’s because you are not a true cannabis connoisseur, my friend. It’s a fine powder found on the leaves of the plant, and it contains a stupid amount of THC which basically gets you higher than the Empire State.”

It was very strange how easily they all got on, bouncing off each other. Dan could see their personalities flourish around him, seeing how they all interacted with each other: Arin was leading the group, able to take ahold of jokes and keep them going until everyone’s ribs ached from laughing. His chocolate-brown hair flowed easily down his neck, just touching his shoulders, and he leant on his hands behind him and looked at everyone with warm eyes with such passion and friendliness. Next to him, leaning on the tree with his boyfriend round his arm was Mark, grinning easily and laughing with his deep voice. His brown eyes shimmered with delight and the buzzing energy of the weed starting to settle in, and he cracked joke after joke with Arin following alongside.

Next to Mark was Jack, who was giggling along with a goofy grin. He slid in a few humorous comments alongside the jokes, and was so incredibly friendly it was almost unreal. He made Dan and Barry feel so welcome, it was as if they had known each other forever; next to Arin was Suzy, who had a pretty smile and was leaning into her boyfriend’s chest. She, too, made the pair feel welcome by asking questions about themselves – about their classes, their hobbies, their interests. Barry was sitting cross-legged, with a soft smile on his face. Though he wasn’t saying much, he looked wonderfully content among his new friends.

“Who did you get this from?” Dan asked Mark after some time, passing it to Arin.

“Huh? Oh, I got it off Coda Whiles. He’s grows some good shit. Hides it in a basement with his roommates – I’ve seen it, the shit’s impressive.”

Coda was the man to get drugs off in college. Ranging from cannabis to cocaine, it was him who brought the drugs to the parties. Everyone who did drugs in Willowshore Bay knew this. He was in his last year of college, the year above Dan. His roommates were druggies too, and all Dan knew about them was that they just spent day after day taking drugs and playing MMO’s and only leaving to work at their part-time jobs at McDonalds.

“There’s Buster though,” Arin said. Mark’s nose scrunched up in disgust as he continued: “Lives down by the rural estate on the west side of town. He’ll get you anything – fucking smack, if you want it.”

“But you don’t want that, right?” Danny asked apprehensively.

“Fuck no,” Arin replied, passing the joint to Mark who nodded in agreement, “You don’t want heroin, it fucks you up big-time. Easy to get on, hard to get off.”

“Yeah,” Jack said, a sly smirk rising to his face, “Just like Mark’s penis.”

The group cackled with laughter and Mark shoved Jack, yelling, “What’s that supposed to mean?!”

“I’m kidding, bro. Love ya.”

“Love ya too.”

Barry’s terrified hiss caught off them guard: “Hide it! Cooper’s coming!”

In a flash, Mark had the joint stowed away in his pocket. Cooper was a tall, balding man with watery blue eyes that were rapidly searching around the campus, brows furrowed and jaw jutted. His eyes fell upon the group, narrowed and he slowly began to move towards them fully geared up in his dark blue uniform.

“Oh no,” Arin muttered, with a sly smile, “I’m absolutely _quivering_ in my boots.”

The group snickered, making Cooper walk faster. He stopped in front of them, arms crossed and spoke, “What you lot up to?”

“Just minding our own business,” Arin sighed cheerfully, stretching his arms above his head. Danny’s head began to lighten and he thought angrily: _Now’s not the time to get high, brain!_

“Smells like pot,” Cooper growled, sniffing the air, “Have you been smoking cannabis? On the _campus_ of all places?”

“Sargent Cooper,” Mark said, leaning forward a little, “I cannot believe you’d say such a thing. Against _this_ group of people?”

“Yes, against _you_ and the rest of your buddies,” Cooper replied coolly, his eyes glaring into Mark’s and Arin’s. “You two are very notorious in the staff room, I assure you.”

“My reputation proceeds me,” Arin grinned lazily, looking very pleased with himself, “That’s it, boys – I’m college legend. Time to retire.”

“But the rest of us?” Danny asked, feeling his heart in his throat but the rebellious vibe of Arin and Mark hit him too, “Are _we_ notorious?”

“Yeah!” Arin nodded, joining in, “You seriously cannot blame these fine young ladies and gentleman and in-betweens for using Class B’s. Suzy, who’s in all the top classes and fighting to be the school president? Jack, who recently got an A in his last Science test? Poor Barry here, an innocent newcomer to the fine educational establishment? Surely, you are mistaken, for-”

“Alright, alright, I get it,” Cooper cried out, rubbing his eyes. “If I catch you… any of you…”

“Understood, Dick – uh, Rich,” Arin replied, with a two-fingered salute.

Cooper pointed threateningly at Arin with a finger. “Watch your tongue, mister.”

Cooper strided away with his nose in the air and Arin flipped a bird at his back.

“You guys…” Barry sighed, shaking his head. But he had a mischievous smile on his face.

“What?” Arin smirked, sticking out his tongue a little, “I got a problem with authority.”

Dan, who had been watching Arin with rising respect and admiration, added: “Looks like authority has a problem with you, too – woah.”

He felt like his head had been hit with a baseball bat. He blinked, his vision going a little wavy and smiled dreamily.

“Aha! HA!” Mark yelled, pointing at Dan excitedly, “He’s high! He’s high! It hit him!”

“That’s my boy!” Arin cried is delight, jumping on his knees suddenly and punching him playfully, “Now we’re ready to take on Cooper!”

“W-What?” Dan spluttered in shock.

Arin leapt onto his feet and flexed his arms behind him, bouncing on his feet. “We’re gonna beat the ever loving shit outta old Dick,” he said. He raised his fists to his eyes in a defensive stance. “Give ‘em the old one two,” he continued in a mocking, rough New York accent and started to punch the air whilst hopping on his toes, “One two, one two. Rough ‘em up a lil, stare ‘em in the eyes! Show ‘em who’s boss!”

“He’s high,” Mark laughed.

“Wa-bam! One two! Rough ‘em up, Johnny!”

“He’s definitely high,” Danny agreed as the group giggled, watching Arin jump around excitedly. He bounced a bit, then span round the group with a grin.

“Hey!” Arin yelled, “Are you all busy tonight? Let’s go bust up the town. Sneak into a cinema, bomb down the hill in a shopping cart, go cliff-diving down by the sea. What do ya say?”

“Do it tomorrow night,” Mark said, with a yawn and leaning into Jack’s shoulder, “I got date plans with the old green bean here.” Jack smiled bashfully and nudged his friend.

“No biggy,” Arin said, stretching his arms. “It’s gonna be mad. You’ll come too, right?” He asked, looking between Dan and Barry. The two nodded enthusiastically. Dan could feel excitement brewing in his gut and, as he gazed among his new friends, he knew that there was a lot of fun to be had. Especially with him – he watched Arin dance around in the grass excitedly, then got up and chased after him as the group watched on laughing madly.


	2. Draw Your Swords

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dan has music class, gets into a fight and eats some pizza.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The song played in Arin's room is Draw Your Swords by Agnus and Julia Stone, and can be listened to here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ceup8anv94A
> 
> I hope you enjoy the chapter!

_So today has been... different, I suppose. But really, really good. I met this guy called Arin, and he's so damn cool. He's fairly tall, got a bit of a wide frame, medium to long brown hair that trails down to his shoulders just slightly with a blonde streak running down it. Turns out this guy is the newest kid on the block, and the most troublesome too. Well, it looks like Barry might be the newest actually because Arin seems to already know people whilst Barry doesn't know anyone. But I met Barry too! I also met a girl called Suzy and two dudes called Mark and Jack. Arin and Mark smoke pot too, which is rad so now I have some smoking buddies. Hey, now I think about it, Arin and Suzy both have blonde streaks… I guess it’s a relationship thing. Still, I can’t get my mind off Arin…_

Dan finished up his diary entry and pushed the notebook back into his bag, just as his phone alarm buzzed to signal the beginning of class. He had split up from the group a little while earlier to grab some books and such from his bedroom for his next class – Music.

This was the class he signed up for. This was what he always looked forward to. The college was proud of its music department which hid in the school’s basement, packed full of theory classrooms, studios adorned with all sorts of equipment from the instruments to recording booths, and even a live band set-up which included a drum kit, electric guitars, acoustic guitars, base guitars and keyboard to boot. The one thing Dan disliked was his teacher. The professor, who had forgotten to introduce his name at the beginning of the year, was old and dull and preferred to study music out of the textbook rather than jump into the recording booths.

When he arrived, the professor was not present. Which was strange because everyone else had already arrived, even the kids who liked to burst in 10 minutes late just for attention. Dan took his seat, and 5 minutes later a total stranger walked in. He was a fairly older man, probably around 40 years old, with brown greying hair and a beard to match. He had a stern gaze to his eyes but didn’t look intimidating. He smiled warmly at the class and said, “Hello everyone. My name is Brian Wecht, and I’ll be your teacher from now on. It seems that you’re old professor… ah, what was his name?”

The class was quiet for a moment, looking awkwardly among themselves. A punk-rock dude snorted and said, “Fuck if we know.”

Brian laughed. “I don’t blame you. I wouldn’t want to know the name of a dreary old guy like that either. Well, unfortunately he seemed to have suffered some injury over the weekend and had to have an early retirement.”

“He’s dead?” A girl with bright red called out, looking a little horrified.

“Are you not listening, kiddo? He’s outta work. So they just pushed me into the job instead. So… how far are you into the course?”

More quiet and soft mumbling. Dan spoke up nervously, “Mr Wecht, er…”

“Brian. Just call me Brian.”

“Brian. We don’t really know. None of us really paid attention, he just taught us loads of theory or made us copy textbook pages.”

Brian’s face fell, his brow wrinkling. “So you’re saying to spent a whole month so far doing jack sh- er, nothing at all?”

“Yessum,” a boy wearing braces on top of a white shirt said, “So we just busted into a recording room after class and played around in there instead.”

Brian nodded thoughtfully, and walked up to the desk. He picked up the large pile of textbooks and threw them into a nearby trashcan, much to the delight of the class. He grinned widely and then frowned. “Uh… I shouldn’t do that. It’s school property.” He picked them out of the trashcan, dusted them off and instead left them in the corner of the room. “But we’re not using it. Music doesn’t come from books like these – it comes from the heart, the soul and the instrument. Now, let’s get to know each other a bit better. Who’s here to learn how to play an instrument?”

Half the class raised their hands.

“And who’s here to make music digitally?”

A few more hands came up.

“And who’s here to sing?”

The remaining hands came from Dan, a girl at the front and the boy with braces. Brian nodded.

“Well, I can teach you how to sing but I’m not a singer myself. The voice is down to you – so you better have a good one. As for the instruments and digital sound making, that’s what I excel in. So pick up your stuff and let’s move out of this dumb classroom into a proper suite.”

The class followed Brian excitedly into a room with soundproof pads on the walls and had several Macs on the desks, with turntables, launchpads or keyboards connected. Behind a glass window was a recording studio, with a microphone in the middle and headphones hanging loosely over it; a door on the right led to a slightly larger room with guitars and a piano whilst another on the left was to a smaller one with a single drum kit. Brian instructed them to get into groups with somebody who didn’t have the same aim as them – for example, a drummer should link up with a guitarist, a violinist should link up with a pianist, the singers with someone making the music etc.. They all paired up pretty quickly – probably with their friends or bandmates.

“Now I’ll leave you all to do independent work,” Brian said, “Your first project requires you to create a song with other people. Co-operative work must be shown. It must be at least three minutes long. You can have anything you want – a cover song, your own original, an instrumental piece. Hip-hop, rock, classical, folk. The creativity is up to you. But it must be your own stuff! Don’t just sing along to a karaoke of your favourite song. If you need help, feel free to ask me or any of your classmates. I would recommend you group together and decide on what you’re going to make first. Understood?”

They all split off quickly – retreating into corners of the room or the studios in the left and right -and Brian turned to the only figure left standing awkwardly alone, rubbing the back of their neck and glancing around nervously.

“You not got a partner, buddy?” Brian asked.

Dan nodded sheepishly.

“I guess you’re not close with anyone here. I won’t make you go with anyone if you don’t want to. You can’t make a good song with people you don’t like. What’s your name?”

“Dan Avidan.”

“And you’re a singer, right?”

“Yeah.”

“Well then. Would you consider me as your bandmate for this project?”

“That’s not against the rules, is it?”

“The rules state that if there’s a lack of students, then the teacher may aid a student and one student alone in one area. So you stick to the singing and I’ll do the music. That okay with you?”

“Not at all.”

They ended up deciding to do a cover of a song. It was Dan who recommended to do an 80’s or 70’s song, and it was Brian who recommended Pink Floyd. And they both decided on _Wish You Were Here_. Dan was very pleased.

*

After class was finished, Dan gave his gratitude for the help and wished Brian a good day before heading off to his bedroom for the day. He had his mind set on smoking a joint and binging some anime before hitting the hay for the day. With his earphones in, he listened to the Pink Floyd song as he strolled through the campus. The breeze was still slightly warm from summer fading away and autumn setting in, and the deep colours of the orange leaves clinging to the trees left Dan feeling cosy and content.

His eyes followed over toward the entrance to the boys’ dorms, and suddenly he began to jog towards it pulling out his earbuds. A trio of boys were surrounding another kid who was pushed up against a wall; in the centre of the group acting as the leader was Sidney Hickman and his friends looked like two rough biker dudes. Dan suddenly broke into a furious sprint as he spotted the person being harassed as Barry, shrunk against the brick wall and arms curled around his torso.

“Hey!” Dan yelled, “Get away from him!”

He pushed his way through the threesome and stood in front of Barry defensively. Sidney sneered at Dan and snorted.

“Look at you, skinny boy,” he laughed, “You really gonna defend this wimp?”

Dan scowled. “Are you really going to pick on him? What is this – middle school? I think you’ve got better things to do than push people around.”

“Funnily enough, we don’t,” one of the biker guys replied. He had dark brown hair with very thin sideburns, with sunken cheekbones and cuts that had scabbed over. “This goddamn town is boring as all Hell,” he continued crossly, “So you do what you can for fun.”

“Not this. Back the fuck off.”

“Or what?” He laughed aloud, eyeing Dan with heavy amusement. “You know who I am, buddy? Who you’re messing with?”

“No, and I don’t give a flying fuck about your reputation. All I know is that you and your buds here are just some thick-headed bastards.”

“Exactly,” A familiar voice yelled out, and Arin pushed through to join the two. His face was flushed red, and so was his eyes as they burned into the groups. “So move along already!”

The biker guy suddenly snorted with laughter and his friend joined in too. “Ho-ly shit,” he snickered, “Is that Arin Hanson? Well, look at you. All tough and scary.”

Arin’s teeth gritted and he scowled. “Buster! Boy, I bet your Mom _wishes_ she had swallowed you.”

Busters face drained grey and he spat on the ground near his feet. “Enough with your shit, Hanson. Get outta my way or I’ll knock your damned teeth out.”

Arin sniffed and lifted his chin, smirking evilly. “You gonna bark all day, little doggy? Or you gonna bite?”

Buster gave a yell of rage and swung a punch. Arin dodged back and hit back, and a satisfying _crack_ echoed around. He stumbled back, blood leaking out of his nose. The other dude leapt in but Dan stuck out a leg, tripping him up and leaving him in the dirt. Buster staggered up and lunged at Arin, pushing him into the wall. They flailed madly for a moment, Arin beating at his back helplessly; Dan felt energy rise up in him, grabbed at his clothes and threw Buster back on the ground.

“You fucker!” The other biker dude bellowed at Sidney, who had backed away and fled into the dorms, “Pussy!” He charged after him and Buster yelled: “Get back here! You-”

He was interrupted by Arin’s foot, which kicked him full on the jaw and left him sprawled on the grass. He then proceeded to smash his foot into Buster’s ribs, until Barry dragged him off whimpering, “Don’t – don’t be like him… leave it…”

“I don’t like your jerk-off name!” Arin bellowed furiously, “I don’t like your jerk-off face, I don’t like your jerk-off attitude and I don’t like you! Jerk-off!”

“Arin,” Dan gaped in shock at the anger in his friend.

“So why don’t you take a step back, run off to your crack den and go FUCK YOURSELF!”

Buster scrambled to his feet. His face was pale, blood was running down his crooked nose but he had a cruel smile on his lips. “I’m coming for your guts, Hanson! Don’t you dare try act all tough around me!” He backed away and ran off towards the parking lot. Arin’s face was enflamed with hot rage; he glanced over at Barry, then to Dan, then marched off towards the dorms. Dan blinked and turned to Barry, who was sweating profusely and eyes wide.

“You okay, Barry?”

“I’m fine. You?”

“I’m alright.”

“Thanks for helping. I… I’m not good at fighting. Or standing up for myself, really.”

“Don't mention it, buddy.” He ran his fingers through his curly hair. “Arin really lost his temper, huh? I never really seen anyone go mad like that. I wonder what was up with that.”

Barry’s cheeks went pink and he mumbled, “He’s weird. He was weird at the old college too.”

“Huh? What do you mean?”

“Me and Arin… we went to the same college. It was the one in the city – it’s got A class teaching but the kids there are shitheads, especially because we were connected to a high school so we sort of shared a massive campus. I never really talked to Arin, but I saw him around college and in a couple classes. But he moved out pretty quickly.”

“Do you know why?”

“I don’t know. Nobody really did, not even the teachers.”

Something struck Dan suddenly. When the two had first met, Arin had said that he had simply moved away from his old college to the Willowshore Bay area. But the city that Barry was talking about wasn’t far off, maybe only seven or so miles away. That was a bit weird… or maybe it was just miscommunication.

“Let’s go check on Arin,” Dan suggested, “We can check the map to see what room he’s in.”

They entered the dorm and checked the map that labelled the rooms – the name of the dorm rooms, who occupied them, the location of the bathrooms and shower rooms, and the position of the common room. They pin-pointed the room upstairs on the first floor, just two doors away from Barry and directly underneath Dan’s.

“So… why did you move?” Dan asked curiously, “If you don’t mind me asking.”

“Oh. Er… it’s kinda embarrassing… it was ‘cause of bullying. A bunch of jocks kept picking on me and it prevented me from even leaving my room because of all the pranks they’d pull. Taping my door shut and shit like that. So the Principal contacted my Mom, who suggested to move me down here, and she was good with that so I ended up here.”

“Shit. I’m sorry. And now it’s happening here… will you move again?”

“Nah, because now I actually have people to back me up. And… next time, I’ll stand up for myself.”

They paused at Arin’s door and Barry smiled softly. “You should go in.”

“What? Aren’t you coming?”

“I, er… I’m not good at defending myself, so if he takes it out on us then I can’t stand up for myself. But I know you can. I’ll be in my room if you need me, okay?”

Dan nodded, turned and lightly knocked on the door. “Hey, Arin? It’s Dan. Can I come in?”

There was rustling and Arin eventually replied, “Okay.”

Arin’s room was not what Dan expected. It was full of a mixture of gaming goodies such as a replica of the _Legend of Zelda_ shield, several _Mega Man_ posters and framed artwork and some more signed artwork that Dan assumed Arin drew himself. There was a computer set-up with two monitors, and a drawing tablet pushed to the side. Underneath the desk were a few consoles. There was a cosy looking double-bed, a very large sofa and a bookshelf stuffed with books, comics and manga. Clothes were thrown on the floor, joined by pizza boxes, bottles and smoked joints. The room reeked of weed. Arin was cross-legged on his bed, trying to light a bong with a poor lighter.

“You need help?” Dan asked, rummaging in his pockets for his own lighter. He didn’t need to: Arin managed to spark the lighter, and the bong bubbled. After a moment, he pulled back and exhaled white smoke.

“Stick on some music and take a seat,” Arin said, pointing to a hi-fi stereo near the window, “There should already be something in there.”

Dan pushed the play button and an unfamiliar tune started to play. It was the gentle strings of a sad guitar, followed by an equally sad piano. He sat down on the edge of the bed.

_See her come down, through the clouds / I feel like a fool / I ain't got nothing left to give / Nothing to lose._

“You feeling okay?” Dan asked, recognizing his miserable behaviour. Arin shrugged meekly. “Talk to me, man.”

Arin silently passed the bong he was holding, the top cupped over by a hand. Dan took it with a quiet thanks and inhaled. Arin sighed and laid back on his bed, arms behind his head.

“So me and Suzy were dating, right?”

“Right.”

Arin was quiet for a second and whispered, “That’s it. Were.”

Dan’s eyes widened and his face fell into sympathy. He laid down beside Arin, lying on one side. “Arin. Dude. I’m sorry.”

“I mean… we both sort of agreed to break it off. It wasn’t working. We were better off as friends than lovers – it just didn’t _feel_ right for me, to have her round my arm. And she said that same. So we’re still cool… but it’s still sad.”

Arin teared up a little and rubbed his eyes. Dan wasn’t sure how to comfort him, so patted his shoulder. “Break-ups fucking suck. At least you’re still fine and it wasn’t a bad one, but I understand it’ll still hurt.”

“I’ll probably be over it tomorrow.”

“Don’t make yourself though. You have every right to feel sad.”

_Cause you are, the only one._

_Cause you are, the only one._

“This probably sounds bad,” Dan mumbled awkwardly, “But… do you think… that argument with Sidney the Rich Kid… was it anything to do with that?”

Arin frowned and shook his head. “Nah. Sidney’s a cockhead. Suzy hates his guts – I know that for sure. Snobby fucking rich kid thinks he owns the school because of some damn sponsorship deal and the Principal sucks up to him all the time. Well, he’s gonna get moved out of her room anyways so that’s that. I think she mostly spends her time sleeping in someone else’s dorm to avoid him. Can’t remember her name.”

“What she look like?”

He scrunched up his face in concentration. “Pink hair. Keeps to herself. Has a boyfriend, he’s a weird guy. Probably dorks.”

“You’re a dork. Look at your room.”

“Nah, I mean _dorks_. She hosts a DnD club, and I think they’re both in the same _World of Warcraft_ guild.”

They stayed quiet for a moment.

_You are mine, I am yours / Let’s not fuck around._

“I’m not really sure the full reasons why Suzy ended it,” Arin spoke, “And I won’t ask her. But…”

Arin sat up, pulling his knees to his chest and resting his knees on his chest. Dan sat up and leaned over, to see him looking like he was on the verge of crying.

“Arin…?”

He looked like he was about to say something, then decided otherwise. He tightened his eyes and spoke, his voice quivering.

“I broke up with her because… I think I like men more.”

Dan blinked and tilted his head, waiting for him to continue.

“I’ve known for a while. I like boys, and I like girls, and I like anything in-between. Who really _cares_ about gender, right? As long as they’re a decent person… who cares?” He paused for a moment then sighed. “Apparently a lot of people do.”

Dan put an arm around Arin’s shoulders, hugging him against his side. “Being pansexual isn’t a bad thing. It’s how you feel, isn’t it?”

“If it’s not a bad thing then why do I feel so ashamed?!” Arin cried out suddenly as tears started to stream down his cheeks. “Why do I feel like a disappointment to society?! Because I’m not who people want!”

“But you’re who you want. Fuck ‘em. Fuck everyone’s opinion! As long as you’re happy with yourself, who gives a flying fuck? Arin!” Dan suddenly straightened up. “Arin, I’m bisexual too, and I’m happy. I’m proud of who I am, and fuck anyone who says otherwise! That’s what you’re like, right? Fuck everyone’s opinion! Fuck ‘em!”

“Yeah,” Arin nodded quietly, smiling softly, “Fuck ‘em.”

“No. Say it with more passion!”

“Fuck ‘em!” Arin said, a little louder.

“Louder, goddammit!”

“FUCK ‘EM!”

“That’s it!”

Arin jumped on the bed and punched the air, leaping up and down. “Fuck ‘em! Fuck ‘em!”

“Okay, big cat. Not too loud.”

The door knocked quietly and cracked open. Barry’s face poked round, his eyes wide and curious. “Hi,” he said, “I heard some yelling. So… just checking.”

“Fuck ‘em!” Arin cried, jumping off the bed and grabbing Barry, spinning him around, “Fuck ‘em, right, Barry? Bar. Bear! Barry Bear. Barricorn.”

“He’s okay,” Dan smiled with a wink, “Maybe high.”

Barry beamed. “Well, lucky I arrived. I ordered some pizza and it’s almost here, if you guys…?”

Arin didn’t need telling twice, and he bounded excitedly out the bedroom. Dan watched Arin rush around the corridor, leaping around and yelling.

“So what was wrong?” Barry asked, leaning against the door frame with a small, fond smile.

“Suzy broke up with him. He got sad because he felt ashamed about not being straight. I set him right.”

“Good on you. Look at him, he’s bouncing around like mad now!”

Arin charged back at them and leapt into Dan’s arm, giggling like mad. Dan joined in the laughter and Barry chuckled along.

“I am… _so_ stoned,” Arin moaned with a huge grin.

Barry went out to collect the pizza at the entrance of the college campus, and invited the pair into his room to wait. Barry’s dorm room was handsomely decorated with a variety of gamer items including banners, framed posters and artwork. His bed was a high sleeper, strewn with pillows and soft toys of video game characters as well as a thick duvet. The desk below displayed a smart computer set-up: one monitor showed a video editing software, paused on what seemed to be gaming footage, and the other showed a YouTube video of cute chibi cats in a marching band that Dan assumed was on loop. Next to it was an empty soda can, a neat pile of books and notes and a pencil plot. Yellow fairy lights twisted around the bedframe and all across the room towards an end table with a record player. The lights continued around the room, past a TV with a PlayStation 4 hooked up and a wardrobe with books and clothes inside. This was all finished off with a large rug displaying the tri-force, an acoustic guitar and a small couch.

“Wow,” Dan muttered, gazing around with interest, “This is neat.”

Arin had already jumped on a beanbag, stretching his legs with a happy sigh. Barry entered the room shortly afterward, carrying three pizza boxes. The three spent the rest of the evening on the couch watching Netflix shows, eating their way through large pizzas and laughing until their ribs hurt. Today, Arin was living like them; tomorrow, Dan was going to live like him.


	3. Eternal Youth

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dan and Arin smoke some weed and get searched. Then they meet a girl who loves birds, a boy who loves video games and end up sneaking into the school in the dead of night to investigate a corrupt school system.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey! I hope you enjoy the story! This has gotten some good feedback so far, I'm super happy because I love writing this series. To give my thanks, I made a cool thing for you guys! I found a website where you can build a home, so I built Dan's dorm room! You can have a look at it here: https://www.homestyler.com/floorplan/?lang=en_US&assetId=26837db6-26a8-4932-b12f-1f9f339094ab
> 
> There's a few assests missing, like the stereo player, the album covers and a few colour scheme choices but this pretty much what I picture it as in my head. If you guys like it, then I'll build Arin's dorm next! If the link doesn't work, let me know so I can fix it!
> 
> Additonally, here's the song played whilst Dan and Arin get stoned. It's called Eternal Youth by RUDE: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DhHGDOgjie4
> 
> Thanks for reading! <3

  
_So yesterday I got into my first fight... well, I guess it wasn't a fight for me because I didn't fight anyone. Arin did. He went absolutely nuts on the rich kid and a pair of drug dealers. It was so exciting to watch... but also kind of frightening. But now they know not to mess with Barry or anyone else! Barry repaid the favour with some pizza and video games, and it was a pretty dope day. But it's Tuesday today, which means I have no lessons. Yay! So I slept in, it's 2pm right now. Arin's planning some all-nighter adventure so I can't be too tired otherwise I won't have a fun experience. I'm excited. I wonder what' he's got in store._  
  
The door rapped loudly and Dan started, hastily closing his book and shoving it into his rucksack, then called out, "Come in!"  
  
Before he even said the first syllable, Arin burst in and jumped into Dan. They landed on the bed, giggling.  
  
"Hey, man," Dan chuckled, scrambling out of Arin's grasp. "How's it going?"  
  
"What time did you get up?" Arin asked, sitting on his knees, "It's been like half the day."  
  
"Just half hour ago."  
  
"You skipped class?"  
  
"No. I don't have classes on Tuesday and Thursday."  
  
"Lucky bastard. I only miss Thursdays. Hey, sweet pad!" He jumped to his feet, stretching and pushed back his long, brown hair. "You got some weed? Wanna hit the bong then go find Barry?"  
  
"Sure." Dan took a hold of his bong – a smoothly crafted glass bong with a blue tint – and was pleased to see he already had about an 1/8th packed in the bowl. He lit it, took a big hit and passed it to Arin who gratefully took one too.  
  
"Wow," he said, with a little bit of a cough, "That tastes nice."  
  
"It's Pineapple Kush. Gives you a sweet high."  
  
"Yeah, that'll be why! One of my favourites. Leaves you super happy and relaxed. Let's put on some tunes whilst we chill out."  
  
He seemed prepared. He had a CD in his rucksack, and black ink scribbled on it read: ' _Arin's Indica Playlist_ '. After inserting it into the hi-fi stereo, some calming guitar played followed by a simple beat as the music kicked in.  
  
"Lo-fi hip hop," Arin proclaimed, "Is the _best_ music to get stoned to. That or some old-age classics."  
  
The pair sat cross-legged on the bed, sharing bong hits, until Dan announced it had hit him and Arin declared he had been hit in the head by a brick. They lay on the bed, listening to the music, barely able to talk.  
  
"You made this?" Dan murmured, struggling to form words.  
  
"Huh?"  
  
"The music."  
  
"No..."  
  
"As in... the CD."  
  
"Oh." There was a long silence. "Yeah," Arin finally replied.  
  
Dan suddenly broke out giggling and sighed, "I am... so fucked."  
  
"Same." There was another long silence, then he repeated, "Same." Another moment of quiet, then he said, "Shit, did I already say that?"  
  
"I... can't remember."  
  
The door burst suddenly open and Mark charged in. The pair sat up, with goofy grins, but they faded to concern as they noticed Mark's panicked eyes.  
  
"Hide it," he said hurriedly, "Cooper's coming around the corner, said he's going to search rooms." He rushed off down the corridor, likely to tell another stoner down the strip; Jack came flying after him, yelling for him to slow down.  
  
They broke into action. Dan shoved the bong under a loose floorboard under his bed, and Arin pulled out deodorant and hurriedly sprayed the room. Just in time too, as Cooper's stern, clean-shaven face appeared around the door.  
  
"Alright, boys?" He said, with an almost cocky smile, "I've come to do a routine check. Standard procedure... won't take 5 minutes..."  
  
"What do you mean?" Dan asked, "Hey, don't touch my stuff!" He lunged as Cooper began to finger through his album shelf, and Cooper retracted his hand but glared at Dan with a suspicious squint.  
  
"Why you so paranoid, boy? You hiding something?"  
  
"No! I don't want you touching my stuff! _My_ property! I don't want you to search my room."  
  
"Well, I have to."  
  
"You don't," Arin added defensively, stepping up with Dan, "Nowhere on the rules does it say that searching people's rooms is a 'standard procedure'-"  
  
"And who asked you, Hanson? Are you the owner of this room?"  
  
"No, and even if I was, I don't want you checking my room either! But the owner of this room has said you can't, so get outta here!"  
  
"Watch your tongue-"  
  
"Actually, Mr Cooper." Suzy had appeared in the doorway, leaning against the frame with a sweet smile, "Though you _do_ have a warrant to search people's rooms, the procedure can't go on without the occupant's permission. And as they're saying no..."  
  
"Incorrect, missy! I have every right to! If I have good reason to – and I do, a reliable source has tipped me off that you are under the possession of drugs-"  
  
"That would be true," Suzy replied, with an even more innocent smile, "If you were under the guidelines of the police. You're not a police officer, you're a security guard of a school – and under the rules _here_ you must have student permission, which you do not. So move along now, please."  
  
Cooper's face crinkled with frustration and he pointed two fingers towards Dan. "I got my eye on you, Avidan. I know what you're up to." He slunk out the room, tail behind his legs, and down the corridor to his next victim. Arin and Dan relaxed.  
  
"You're a lifesaver," Arin sighed happily.  
  
"I know I am," Suzy said, with a little wink and a cheerful grin. But Dan was still worried.  
  
"Someone tipped him off," he muttered, "Someone snitched me up. Who? Why?"  
  
"I bet you it's Sidney," Suzy replied, "Buster wouldn't, nor his mate – they're drug dealers themselves. Sidney's got his thumb under this school, he could've done it easy."  
  
"But why Dan?" Arin added, almost aggressively, "I was the one who punched his lights out – why would he target Dan?"  
  
Suzy shrugged, scratching her chin. "Who knows? You should some investigating. I think you'd find out in Cooper's office."  
  
Dan looked horrified at the suggestion, but Arin's face lit up. "Yeah! We'll need someone who has sneaky fingers... someone who can lock-pick... I think Coda can, why don't we ask him?"  
  
The drug dealer did not live on campus, but instead in a cheap apartment block near the Serenity Gardens. Dan was still quite out of it, both stoned and sleepy, but Arin looked eager to investigate. They thanked Suzy and went out together to grab Barry. After picking up their friend – who had been slumped in his chair working through an editing project and seemed happy for an excuse to take a break – the group set out a plan and begun their journey: out the campus, down the block, through Serenity Park, and toward the apartment complex.  
  
Crossing through Serenity Park made Dan feel intensely bliss and content. The park circled around a large lake in the dead centre of the town where ducks and swans resided, as well as a popular spot of pigeons. The path circled around it, with paths leading towards different parts of town – the beach to the South, the college campus in the East, the square towards the North that lead to the town square and the suburbs of residents that weren't college students, and the West towards the rural estate. As they strolled through the park with the cool autumn breeze in their hair, Suzy suddenly squealed and waved at somebody sitting cross-legged by the fence of the lake; the rest jogged after her.  
  
At first, Dan could barely see through the huge flock of grey, white and brown pigeons congregated together furiously pecking at a variety of seeds. But sitting in the middle was a girl with short, wavy pastel-pink hair with large glasses and a grey, ripped jumper on. Perched on her dark jeans and knee-high boots were a variety of pigeons, nibbling at food; she already had one cuddled in her arms, holding a thin metal tool and scratching it at a brown and white pigeons foot. She looked up cheerfully, with a bright smile. "Suzy! Hey!"  
  
"Hi Holly!" She said, staying around the circle of pigeons so not to scare them away, "How's it going?"  
  
"Pretty well. Just rescuing a few pigeons. How're you?"  
  
"I'm good! I'm hanging out with my friends here – this is Arin, Dan and Barry. Guys," she turned to group, who looked a bit confused by the strange woman, "This is Holly Conrad, she's a friend of mine. Holly loves pigeons, and she comes here almost daily to feed them and help them out."  
  
She raised the pigeon up slightly to expose its foot. "There's some thread wrapped around its foot, and I need to cut it off. Otherwise it stops the birds blood flow and the toes end up being amputated."  
  
"Oh jeez," Barry muttered.  
  
"I have some bird seed in my bag – if you spare the time to sit down and feed them?"  
  
They sat down in the grass, sprinkled bird seed around them and soon was covered by pigeons fluttering around them. Dan giggled as a pigeon fluttered onto his knee, happily munching out of his hand. He was way too stoned for this.  
  
"Hey. Dan, right?" Holly said, who was holding another pigeon who was struggling quite a lot, "Can you help me steady this guy? He's got some real tight thread on his foot."  
  
Dan reached over and gently held the bird, and nervously started to stroke its head. Holly smiled, reached for the tool and began to try cut away. Dan watched with interest as she burrowed herself in a deep cocoon of concentration, biting her lip slightly and eyes narrowed. Dan didn't notice that Arin was watching Dan, almost with a hint of jealously.  
  
"So... why are you guys out and about?" Holly asked the group.  
  
"We were on our way to, er... see a friend," Barry replied.  
  
"Coda Whiles, the drug dealer," Arin explained cheerfully. Barry gave him a half-stern, half-amused look and he continued: "My name is Detective Arin Hanson. Suzy is my partner-in-crime, Barry is my intern and Dan is my sexy assistant. We're investigating a deep, dark school conspiracy that the Head of Security is being played by the hands of one of the students and we're going to see Coda so he can sneak into their office and get us some clues."  
  
Holly laughed aloud and said, "Oh, I know just the guy. My boyfriend is a trouble-maker, he'll help you out."  
  
Suzy smiled. "Great! Where do we find him?"  
  
"He's probably in his room playing games. I can take you to him once we're done here."  
  
After about 10 minutes of struggling, the bird was finally free from its bonds. With a cheerful beam, Holly released it with a jovial: "Coo kurra roo coo coo!" Looking around, she announced there didn't seem to be anymore pigeons with bad feet and they headed off back to the campus.  
  
There, they moved through the boys dorm and knocked on the door owned by "Ross O'Donovan". Holly pushed it open, calling in, "Hey, baby! How's it going?"  
  
Ross's room was messy, with clothes and gizmos thrown around. The double-bed was Mario themed, the bed covers thick with many pillows. A large glass cabinet showed a huge collection of toys - which, upon closer inspection, were _Transformer_ figurines. Huge posters showed geek and gamer exclusive art, as well as cartoon characters and sci-fi movies. There was a cooler, partially open to reveal an assortment of alchoholic drinks, snacks and strange goodies imported from Japan. The main feature of the room was a triple monitor computer set-up, with a glowing computer and several consoles. This was where Ross was sitting in a large office chair, a pair of headphones perched on his head, playing _World of Warcraft_. He pushed a headphone off on ear, turned around and smiled. "Hi Holly!" He put the headphones around his neck, brushing his soft brown hair and his bright blue eyes shining.  
  
"Hey - uh, some people were looking for someone with your skills. Suzy's here. And here's Arin, Dan and Barry."  
  
"Hey! You're in our Media class!" Ross proclaimed, "We had a tapping competition."  
  
"Ugh, that _was_ you," Holly sighed.  
  
"We need someone to sneak into Cooper's office," Arin explained, "We think he's a corrupt fucker and we wanna investigate."  
  
"That fucker tried to search my room 5 minutes ago, looking for drugs! But he was stopped by some red-haired punk. I'd love to get some dirt on him - I'm in. What's the plan?"  
  
"We sneak into his office," Arin replied, sitting on Ross's bed as the rest of the group followed in, "Just look through his files for anything that shows something's not right. We think that the rich kid Sidney has him under his grip. We gotta get some dirt on him."  
  
Ross scratched his nose and nodded. "Alright. We can do it tonight, when the doors are locked and nobody's inside. Who's coming with?"  
  
Arin immediatly jumped to volunteer, and Dan agreed too. Suzy, Holly and Barry, however, decided not to and "stay at HQ". Ross has already hacked into the school camera system a while ago, just as a side hobby to watch people so he could stir up rumours and expose embarrassing secrets so put the three on intelligence to keep an eye out and delete footage once they were done.  
  
"Sounds like a plan," Dan nodded, "Arin - you're nuts for doing this."  
  
"I know. Autobots, roll out!"  
  
"It's only late afternoon."  
  
"Oh. Oops."  
  
*  
  
In all honesty, Dan had never really expected to end up with a group of friends like this. He thought he'd maybe get a couple of friends he'd see every weekend, or just hang out with the theatre kids. But instead, he was growing a close bond with a group of the most unlikely friends: the class clown,  a shy nerd, a smart model, two gay punk(?) lovers - one a stoner, the other a major nerd - a pigeon girl and a World of Warcraft player. Not how he thought college would turn out. He also didn't expect college to turn out to be sneaking into the school at 9pm, the lights out and nobody around but him, Arin and Ross. He had earphones in, on the phone to Barry, Suzy and Holly who were back at Ross's dorm watching through cameras. Ross had been lock-picking the door for the last 5 minutes and Arin was bored.  
  
"Hurry up," Arin hissed, "Cooper or the Prinicpal or anyone could roll up any second-"  
  
"In!" Ross cheerfully announced, pushing the door open.  
  
"Nice going, Ross!" Dan grinned, and they entered the hallway.  
  
It was eerily creepy at night. Bathed in nothing but darkness and a pale white light from Arin's phone torch, they slowly moved through the hallway to the double-doors. Lockers gleamed against the light, the trophies displayed in cabinets twinkled proudly.  
  
"I can see you going through," Barry said from the earphone, "I'm checking to see if there's anything ahead of those double-doors... nobody. Keep going."  
  
 _THUMP!_  
  
The group turned around in shock, trying to surpress a yelp, and saw Arin lying on his back with his feet in the air.  
  
"It's okay," he moaned, "I slipped."  
  
Ross and Dan snickered as Arin struggled to his feet, looking a little sheepish and angry. "Barry. Edit that out."  
  
They sneaked their way past classrooms, peering in anxiously even though Barry could tell them it was empty. Dan felt both terrified and exhilirated; the fear of a furious face coming around the corner, waving a flashlight and yelling at them made his heart shudder with anxiety. But the thrill of breaking the rules and diving into mystery and adventure kept him following the pair of trouble-makers with glee.  
  
Eventually, they came to the Head of Security's office. Situated right at the back of the school in the staff corridor, with all the meeting rooms and teachers offices and staff room, it was a huge beige door labelled _Dave Cooper, B.E.E, Head of Security._  
  
"Bee?" Arin snickered, as Ross pulled out his torsion wrench and pick, "Is Cooper a bee?"  
  
"What's he talking about?" Suzy asked from Dan's earphones.  
  
"Cooper has a title called B-E-E."  
  
"B-E-E? That's a degree in... electrical engineering. I guess he was an electrican before this job."  
  
"Or maybe he's got a degree in reciting _The Bee Movie_ script from heart," Arin replied with a snort.  
  
"According to all known laws of aviation," Ross said, "There is no way a bee should be able to fly."  
  
"Ross, ssh! Keep it down!"  
  
"It's wings are too small to get its fat little body off the ground."  
  
"Oh my God, Ross..."  
  
"The bee, of course, flies anyway, because bees don't care what humans think is impossible."  
  
"Seriously, do you know the whole thing?"  
  
"Yellow, black. Yellow, black. Yellow, black. Yellow, black. Ooh, black and yellow! Let's shake it up a little."  
  
"Arin... do you condemn this?"  
  
"Barry, breakfast is ready! Coming!"  
  
"Dan... I'm speechless. Why did we hire this fucking loser?"  
  
"Coming! Hang on a second. Hello? Barry? Adam? Can you believe this is happening?"  
  
"I can't for sure."  
  
"I can't. I'll pick you up. Looking sharp. Use the stairs. Your father paid good money for those."  
  
"What's going on?" Holly said into Dan's phone.  
  
"Sorry. I'm excited. Here's the graduate. We're very proud of you, son. A perfect report card. All B's!"  
  
"Oh my God," Holly sighed, "He does that."  
  
"I don't want to _bee_ alive anymore," Arin whispered, looking as if he was about to cry.  
  
"Come on Arin, you gotta _bee_ positive."  
  
"Nice boo- _bees_ ," Ross snickered. The lock clicked open and Ross stood. The jokes stopped and the three became serious as they entered.  
  
All around the room were small televisions showing live CCTV footage of the entire school. The _entire_ school. Dan gaped when Arin suddenly pointed that out. From the classrooms to the school grounds, to the corridors of the dorms, to the bathrooms and their cubicles, the locker rooms, the swimming pool, the changing rooms, the shower rooms...  
  
"There shouldn't be this many cameras," Ross said, looking wide-eyes and shocked, "I don't understand. I've only got access to the main ones... I haven't got the changing rooms, shower rooms, the pool, the cubicles... that's a breach of privacy. He's watching us take a shit."  
  
"He's watching us get naked when we go for swimming," Dan added, brow furrowed and angry. "What the fuck? Is this not illegal? How has the Prinicpal let this through?"  
  
Arin scowled and growled a little with anger, and shook his head. "That man is a cunt. A dick-bag. A 2-inch, pervy, brownie hound, Class-A dickless pile of _shit_."  
  
Dan patted Arin's shoulder. "Well said. Let's search his shit, see if we can find anything else."  
  
Ross looked through emails, Arin checked through the cabinets and Dan searched the desk of letters. The desk Cooper worked at was incredibly messy, and most of the papers just seemed to be printed off emails from incidents with students such as school fights. Eventually, he came across one that seemed to be directly hand-written from the Prinicpal.  
  
"Found something," Dan said. The pair looked over and he skimmed through the letter. _"I have taken into consideration his request..._ who is 'his'? _It seems unfair to target just one student... I would suggest a full search of the boys and girls dorm._ Great! So it's the Principal who ordered it?"  
  
"But it looked like somebody else requested it," Arin pointed out, "And was targeting one person. Targeting you! Sidney - targeting you!"  
  
"Let's not jump to conclusions... could've been you for all we know."  
  
"But he didn't search my dorm."  
  
"Only because you said you didn't want to either."  
  
"Does the letter say anything else?" Ross prompted, whose eyes were still fixed on the computer screen.  
  
"No..." Dan replied sadly, looking through, "Just reminder of the rules... shit, hey. He even reminded Cooper that he needed student permission to search his room - but Cooper was going to anyways! He was trying to cheat us, hoping we didn't know! Thank fuck Suzy did."  
  
"What a cheat," Arin spat.  
  
"I know, right?"  
  
"Uh, guys?" Ross said slowly, with a rise of anxiety in his voice, "You might... wanna see this..."  
  
Arin and Dan peered over his shoulder to the laptop screen blaring in the dark. An email from a website he had never heard of before and could barely pronounce read: Your order has arrived: _Ammonia Nitrate NH4NO3 Test Kit._ It was dated that day.  
  
"Ammonia nitrate...?" Ross murmmered.  
  
"What was that?" Holly asked from the call.  
  
"Cooper ordered Ammonia Nitrate test kit. Why would a security guard want something so... science-y?"  
  
"Ammonia nitrate?" Suzy replied, and she muttered to Barry to quickly look it up. "We're taking a look... it's used in agriculture - so it's a fertilizer... shit. It's also commonly used for explosives."  
  
"Explosives?!" Dan cried out. Arin hushed him.  
  
"Not on it's own though. But if it's mixed with other chemicals like fuel oil... this sort of stuff has been used for major bombings. What the Hell?"  
  
"So he's either planning to blow up the school," Ross muttered, "Or he's getting a hobby in farming. I really hope it's the latter."  
  
"Don't we all," Arin growled darkly.  
  
Dan sat up straight and run his fingers through his hair. Ross took out his phone, took a photo of the email then also stood. "What now?"  
  
"We check the Prinicipal's office," Arin replied determinedly, "What we know so far that the search was requested by somebody and the Principal approved it, only to search everyone rather than one targeted person as the.... requestee? Asked for."  
  
"So the Prinicpal's office should have an email or letter showing who it was," Ross nodded, "Let's get going. Barry, don't forget to edit out the CCTV footage!"  
  
They moved along the corridor to the dark brown frame of the Principal's door, reading: _Professor Darius Edward, BSA, M.Ed., Prinicipal of Westview Academy._  
  
"Fancy name," Arin chuckled as Ross got to work picking the door, "Darius. Darius. Who calls their kid Darius? Hey, Dar! D. Big D!" He burst out laughing, shoving Dan playfully as he started to giggle too. "I'll give you 20 bucks if you go up to him tommorow and say, 'Hey, Big D!'."  
  
"I'm not doing that!"  
  
"What a pussy."  
  
This door took a little longer, but they managed to quietly slip in. The office was large and fancy, with cabinets and bookshelves lining the whole room. The large desk facing behind the window showed stacked letters, an old looking computer and a huge black chair. Arin headed towards the cabinet interesedly, and started to look through the files.  
  
"Hey!" He grinned, "These are the student files! Let's find some of ours... here's Dan!"  
  
He opened a folder and read in a deep, professional voice: " _Leigh Daniel Avidan_ \- Your real name is Leigh? Oh man. _Leigh Daniel Avidan, commonly known as Dan among teachers and peers, is a bright young student with a talent for music and media. He mantains a good GPA, and the teachers praise him for his quality work in class. He keeps mainly to himself, and although he is a bright student many teachers encourage him to talk more in class._ My, my, Daniel Avidan. You're a good kid, aren't ya?"  
  
"Alright, let's see yours!" Dan said.  
  
Arin flicked through the files and pulled out his own. " _Arin Hanson shows potential in classes, displaying a bright attitude but instead chooses to put his talents to causing mischief in and out the class. Though these issues are not serious, they may affect his academic learning. He does little homework, has shown grudges against some students and teachers alike but has made himself popular among students as the class clown._ Naughty boy, Arin. Tut tut tut."  
  
"Let's see," Dan said, but Arin shut it quickly and pushed it back in.  
  
"I want to see mine!" Ross cried out, who had been filtering through emails on the computer. Arin closed the drawer and opened another one, then pulled it out.  
  
"Oh dear, Ross. Not a very good kid, are you? _Ross O'Donovan is a problematic student, and despite pushes from teachers he seems to struggle academically. Instead of pushing himself, Ross instead decides to cause trouble in the classroom with small misbehaviours, and although completes homework it is possible it is not to the best of his ability. However, he has shown examplary talent in Art class, particulary in animation. We hope to push Ross in a better path to raise his grades and display his full potential._ At least they haven't given up on you, Ross."  
  
"Still a shit card. Mom won't be happy. Let's concentrate now."  
  
Dan went to the desk, filtering through letters but Arin stayed at the cabinet, still looking through the files, pulling them out and reading through. Dan found an unopened envelope dated that day, from Cooper.  
  
"Here we go." He opened it and looked through the letter. "Results of the search... _the search proved to have a negative outcome, as any rooms searched with permission did not have any illegal narctoics in possession._ That's bullshit, nobody wanted their room searched. _Many students refused a search, including the person originally requested for a search... I believe that this person, as well as many others who refused, are under the posession of drugs and I want to request a non-consenting search of their rooms to crack down on this problem._ We can't let this happen. We can't."  
  
"Then let's take the letter," Ross replied, "If it's unopened then he hasn't read it... hey, I'll type a forged letter up and then we can replace it! Then we won't have to have another shakedown!" He opened up a writing software and frantically started to type.  
  
"Hey, check it out, Barry!" Arin said, and Dan headed over with the phone. "It's your report!"  
  
"Oh God," Barry moaned.  
  
"It's fine, dude! _Barry Kramer represents the very best of Westview Academy. He is a bright and intelligent student, showing examplary quality work in class especially in Media studies and Computer Science. He has a consitently high GPA and attendance, and overall represents a long tradition of excellence in the school. He could show some more confidence in his ability, and seems to lack some friends in the school as he seems to be a shy and withdrawn student. We hope Barry continues his great work and continues to have a bright future for him._ Well! Look at that, Bar. The school loves you."  
  
"Awh. That's nice. And now I'm helping students steal private files from the school."  
  
"It's okay, Barry. So is Suzy. She can say goodbye to her chances of being valedictorian."  
  
"Thanks, Arin."

"No problem, Suz!"  
  
Dan went back to the desk and started pulling open drawers, and found a letter that caught his eye. He read it through and grinned. "Bingo!"  
  
"You got it?" Arin asked, looking up from a file that was titled Sean McLoughin.  
  
"Yep! Looks like we were right... this is from Jeremy Hickman. Sidney's father! _I hope you're doing well... thank you for paying back the loans..._ blah, blah... _there was an incident yesterday involving my son, Sidney, and a few other students. Sidney has come to me suggesting that one of these students may be under the possession of illegal narcotics including cannabis, cocaine and..._ Meth... lene... diox... uh..."  
  
"MDMA?" Arin suggested.  
  
"I think so. T _he student, who goes by the name Dan Avidan_ \- it _was_ me! He targeted me! _Dan Avidan should be thoroughly searched for these drugs to prevent a drug problem spreading across the school._ Wow. Motherfucker..."  
  
"That man is a brownie hound," Arin spat furiously, "I'm gonna kill Sid... wait, _do_ you have coke and ectasty on you?"

"What? No! I'm not an idiot, Arin."  
  
"Done!" Ross proclaimed proudly, as the printer began to whirr into life. "Let's replace the letter and bounce outta here."  
  
After they replaced it, closed it carefully and snuck out they began to make their way down the hall.  
  
"Left!" Barry hissed, "Go left! Cooper's coming from the main entrance!"  
  
"We've been busted," Dan whispered, "Go left!"  
  
They scrambled down the hallway and towards the fire exit, pushing it open quickly and bursting out into the campus. They sprinted back towards the dorms, laughing madly.  
  
"Nice job," Barry sighed in relief, "If Cooper checks the footage, you'll be fine - I have it looped on anytime you appeared so nothing will come out."  
  
"Finally," Ross sighed, stretching, "Can I go back to bed?"  
  
"No," Arin replied, with a goofy grin, "This adventure is only getting started. Suzy! Give Mark and Jack a ring and meet us outside the boys dorm. The real fun is about to begin!"


	4. Got Well Soon

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Arin's adventure begins, as they go cliff-diving, clubbing and cart-riding - as well as having a violent encounter with their new foe.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey! Thanks for all the positive response that has gotten so far! Sorry it's taken a while to add to this. I've been trying to juggle a few projects as well as this, plus I'm still trying to plan this story plot. And I got college coming up soon too so it might be even less frequent.
> 
> Anyways, the song used in this chapter during the nightclub scene is called Got Well Soon by Breton and can be found here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NShTPAlRy4k
> 
> Thanks for the support and enjoy! :D

_So… a lot has happened. I’ve found out that Sidney hates me and the gang for no apparent reason, other than Arin punched him and his buddies. He basically got Head of Security to search our rooms for drugs… which we did have, fair enough, but he snitched us up! Nobody snitches in the school. What a dick. It was definitely Sid, because we did some investigating and it turns out his Dad is basically controlling the school and using the Principal as a puppet since he’s a fucking pushover. Nice to see our school is being controlled by a rich, snobby asshole. But anyways – I met some new friends! A girl called Holly who likes pigeons and cosplay, and a dude called Ross who likes video games and drawing! I think he and Arin will get on really well. But tonight we’re going out on an “adventure”, and if Arin is leading this thing then we’re gonna get in a lot of trouble…_

 

The group got together, mingled outside the dorms quietly so not to disturb the rest of the kids sleeping or get security on their asses. Dan hung back with Barry firmly by his side as Arin cheerfully fist-bumped Mark and clapped Jack on the back. Holly was chatting merrily with Suzy, and Ross had a goofy grin on his face giving his thanks to Arin for inviting him and Holly along.

 

“We ready?” Arin asked, looking around, “Shall we roll out?”

 

“Ssh!” Suzy said, nudging him, “Keep your voice down. Do you wanna get caught? Security will be awake since you made so much noise around the school.”

 

Arin gave a sly smirk, and Mark muttered dreadfully, “Oh no.” Arin turned on his heel, raised himself on his toes and bellowed out to the dorm windows: “ _MARK SUCKS DICK FOR MONEY!_ ”

 

They all sprinted towards the gates as a few lights clicked on and someone cracked open a window to see who yelled. Outside the gates, Mark tackled Arin and pushed him about playfully, yelling, “I do _not_! You fucking arse! I’m going to kill you.”

 

“Mark gets to suck my dick for free,” Jack snickered, putting an arm around his boyfriends shoulders and nudging his head against his neck with a smile, “Lucky bastard.”

 

“Boyfriend discount.”

 

“Your gay is showing,” Ross smirked. The group laughed aloud.

 

“This way, troops!” Arin called out, pointing down the road and they followed him chatting and joking. Dan fell back with Barry.

 

“You feeling good?” Dan asked.

 

Barry’s smile lit up. “I’m scared. But I’m also really excited. It’s fun, isn’t it? Breaking the rules.”

 

“It is, yeah. Even more fun with these guys with us. It comes so naturally to them, doesn’t it?”

 

The downtown area was the pier to the South of the town. Some of it was all on a block, loaded with all sorts of places from restaurants to nightclubs, bars to a large shopping mall. On the pier were small restaurants and cafes, outdoor bars, an arcade and the stretched out dock was a small funfair that had a ferris wheel. Even the large beach facing the ocean had a tiki bar, which many of the students liked to come to try out the cocktails whether if they were underage or not. Their first destination was towards the pier to buy snacks. The stall they headed to smelt delicious as the scent of roasted chicken and beef wafted through the air. The group viewed the menu and Dan’s mouth watered from the selection of burgers, hot-dogs and tortillas available.

 

“Shit,” Barry said, patting his pockets, “I left my wallet at Ross’s room.”

 

“I’ll pay,” Dan replied, pulling out his own.

 

“A-Are you sure…? I can go without. It’s okay.”

 

“Nah, it’s okay. Consider it payment for the pizza.”

 

Dan bought himself a taco to eat, and Barry a burger. They all moved on, digging into the warm food they had bought – except Holly, who was instead chowing her way through a lush salad in a plastic pot.

 

“Where are we going?” Ross asked Arin, who leading the way with Dan by his side.

 

“Towards the cliffs,” Arin replied, pointing towards the large cliff with the lighthouse, which was a popular place for parties.

 

“Uh oh,” Suzy said suddenly, “We got trouble.”

 

Ahead of them, Sidney was heading towards them wearing a maroon jumper and black, smart trousers. A few friends around him had a similar style. Dan scowled darkly, and when Sidney spotted them his expression matched Dan.

 

“Look who it is,” Sidney called out, “Bitchface McGee and his chums.”

 

“Are they…?” One of them murmured, nudging Sidney but a sharp look kept him quiet.

 

“You know, you could’ve just walked past and said nothing,” Ross snapped. Sidney looked him up and down with judging dark eyes.

 

“And who are you supposed to be?” Sidney asked with a snide sneer.

 

“I’d ask you the same, but I already know who you are – a dickless _cunt_.”

 

The gang snickered and Sidney’s eyebrows lowered angrily, determined not to be made fun of in front of his friends. But before he could speak, Dan had pushed forward.

 

“Hey, why’d you get Head of Security to search people’s rooms?” He demanded.

 

Sidney looked innocent. “What are you on? I didn’t do _anything_.”

 

“Don’t pull that bullshit,” Arin said irritably, “You aren’t some fucking angel, kid. Nobody snitches on each other at the school, so why did you, huh? Everyone in the boys dorm got searched _except for you._ Kinda obvious, you know? Put two and two together?”

 

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Sidney said, but his eyes shone with the lie.

 

“Do you want me to put it in simple words so you can understand? You snitched to your daddy that the school is full of drugs and they decided to put a stop to that! And don’t give me that fucking look – do you want me to tear your tiny dick off and shove it up your ass?”

 

Dan put a careful hand on Arin’s shoulder.

 

“So what if I did?” Sidney replied, folding his arms with a sly smile, “What’re you going to do? I’ve got control of this school. If I wanted, I could blow it up! I can kick your miserable arses out of the school anytime you want! Maybe even right now, since you’re breaking curfew being off-campus.”

 

“So are you,” Holly pointed out, “You and your mates.”

 

“You got no proof.”

 

“Actually, we do,” Barry said, and lifted his phone with a smile, “I just took a photo. I _could_ send this to the Principal, and obviously as per school rules he’d have to investigate…”

 

“Who’s this smart-ass here?” Sidney laughed, “Was that the nerd we pushed around earlier? I didn’t see you being so sassy earlier when we kicked your skinny ass around, you-”

 

He was interrupted by a flying punch, but not from who most people would expect. Danny reeled back and smashed his fist into Sidney’s face, and felt a satisfying crack. Sidney staggered and looked up, opened his mouth but Danny grabbed his shoulder and pulled it back, and at the same time kicked the bag of his legs. Physics stepped in to do its job as Sidney landed on his back with a yelp.

 

“And I didn’t see _you_ being so smart and cocky when we kicked _your_ ass. Twice now. Come on, say something,” he nudged Sidney with a toe, “Are your mates going to back you up this time?”

 

But his friends had backed off, hands raised in surrender. Sidney spat blood on the deck and snarled, “When my father hears...”

 

Arin moved in and kicked him in the stomach, and Sidney emitted a high-pitched wail of pain.

 

“You are the most _disgusting_ human being I have ever laid my eyes on,” Danny continued, with a small smirk but a tone-cold voice. “You are physically repulsive, intellectually retarded, a cunt, a dickless douchebag, your personality stinks, your very presence brings nothing but misery and anger, you’re insensitive, selfish and overall a detriment to the whole of human society.”

 

Sidney looked like he was about to cry. Danny nodded to the gang and they passed by with scornful expressions.

 

“May God have mercy on your soul,” Barry added, flipping him off.

 

They walked off laughing and giggling, slapping Danny on the back in congratulations. But Dan sort of felt bad. He was a dick… but did Sid really deserve that? The look of pure shock and hurt was imprinted in his mind. Holly noticed this and quickly hung back with him, asking him what was wrong. Dan explained his feelings to her.

 

“I just feel like _I’m_ the bully here,” he finished sadly.

 

“But you know he is. He started it… he insulted Arin first, then Ross, then Barry. You just taught him a lesson. Maybe violence wasn’t the way, and you were a little harsh. But you taught him not to mess with us.”

 

“Yeah...”

 

“Feeling bad is probably the right thing to do though. It makes you human. Arin looks so happy about it. He’s got no sympathy for him. But you do, and I respect that.”

 

“Thanks, Holly.”

 

They continued their walk towards the cliff and Dan looked up towards the lighthouse towering above them, the huge beam of white light spinning round and round. When they eventually reached it, they sat down rubbing their legs from exhaustion.

 

“So what’re we doing?” Ross asked, who looked wiped out from the trek up the cliff.

 

Arin bounced on his feet. “Cliff-diving!” He beamed. “This is the perfect place. Look! It’s all set-up for night diving too.” The cliff-face had a long line of lights running down, and even more lights were bobbing in the water. At the bottom of the cliff was a dock, which had stairs that climbed up back to the top of the cliff.

 

“You’re crazy,” Ross gasped, shaking his head, “You seriously going to do it at night?”

 

Arin was already taking his shirt off, and threw his phone on the ground alongside his shoes. Ross started to cackle, repeating himself: “You’re fucking suicidal. What the Hell. You’re mad.”

 

“He’s mad,” Mark agreed, who was already shirtless, “I love it. Fucking pussies!” He sprinted towards the cliff-face, pushed past Arin and leapt off. The group gathered on the edge to watch his silhouette fall into the water, then pop up a moment later.

 

“My turn!” Arin bellowed. He did a long run-up, and leapt after him hollering: “CANNONBALL!”

 

“Are you guys having a go?” Jack asked, turning to the group with a grin.

 

“Hell yeah, baby,” Dan replied, shoving his shoes off. He sprinted after them and leapt into the air, performing a perfect back-flip. He felt the air rush around him, the world spin with the dark blue sky below him and the lapping ocean with its glowing lights above him, then stretched out his arms and fell into the water. For a moment, all he could see was darkness and the sting of the landing, then he kicked up and found air. Arin and Mark were still in the water and cheered at Dan excitedly.

 

“Come on!” Dan yelled up to them, who were still nervously peering over the edge, a few kicking off shoes and pulling off shirts, “It’s fucking great!”

 

“Mad,” Ross said, “Absolutely mad.” But he already had his shirt and shoes off, looking hesitant to go in.

 

“Come on!” Holly laughed, and shoved Ross forward. He yelped and flailed as he fell 50 feet down into the sea with a loud _smack._ Everybody was laughing madly as Ross resurfaced, spitting out water but joined in too. Holly grabbed Suzy by the arm, who then pulled Jack and Barry together and the four jumped in.

 

“Don’t pull me in so suddenly!” Barry said, emerging from the water and shaking water from his hair, “You scared the shit outta me!”

 

“We all did it!” Mark cheered, fist-pumping the air.

 

“Round two, here I go!” Arin yelled, and began to make his way to the dock. Dan followed after him, with a huge excited grin on his face. As they pulled themselves onto the surface and stood up, shivering a little, Dan suddenly grabbed Arin from behind and pulled him into a hug.

 

“Having fun?” Arin chuckled, pushing his hands through Dan’s hair.

 

“Hell yeah! Dive in with me?”

 

They came up to the cliff-face, readying to jump, but Mark and Jack had beat them into jumping first. Jack turned over to Mark, kissed his lips and said, “I love you, Markimoo.”

 

“I love you too, Jackyboy.” And holding hands, they leapt into the water.

 

“How romantic, boys!” Suzy called out. The pair resurfaced, and started to make out. “Never mind. Get a room!”

 

“Cowabunga!” Arin hollered suddenly, seizing Dan by the wrist and diving into the water. The pair fell through the air and splashed into the sea. Dan kicked around and, through the dark of the sea, managed to pull himself up with a gulp of air.

 

After about an hour of cliff-diving, ending in the group jumping in altogether hand-in-hand (Dan had held Arin’s hand, and he couldn’t quite describe the strange jumpy yet blissful feeling he experienced from that) they dried off, put their clothes back on and strolled down the beach to the tiki bar.  It was found an a short distance away from where the pier stretched out, with it’s warm glowing orange lights and outdoor furniture made of wood. The indoor area had bright glowing lanterns on the ceiling, ranging from yellow to red to green; the walls and bar had patterns of tiki faces carved in, as well as decorations of jungle leaves and branches. Dan wondered why he had never come to his place before, then remembered it was because he never usually left the college before unless it was for grocery shopping or eating at a cafe in the square. 

 

“I could go for a drink,” Ross said, stretching his arms, “Is anyone here 21 years old or over?”

 

Nobody spoke up. Ross looked disappointed.

 

“I got this,” Jack replied. He moved over to the bar, where a young woman was serving, and said, “Evening, Marge.”

 

“Hey there, Jacky,” she smiled. She was tall, blonde and very pretty with a prominent Texan accent. “How’s the night going? Out with your friends?”

 

“Aye. Just been cliff diving.”

 

“I _did_ see some people diving over there. Look at you! You’re soakin’ wet. How ‘bout a beverage or two, huh? Fancy a cocktail?”

 

“Anything you fancy, guys?” Jack asked, leaning his head back to the group. They shrugged or shook their heads, and he leaned over the bar with a cocky grin. “Surprise us, baby.”

 

“Ooh, I will. Just take a seat outside.”

 

“How the Hell did you…?” Mark asked, his eyes wide, as they took seats outside the bar.

 

“Charisma, baby,” Jack replied, leaning back. “Well, not really… I just became a regular here. Used fake ID for a couple of weeks, and used my finely-tuned charismatic personality and good charms to become good friends with dear Marge there. Now I can order whatever I want, whenever I want! When she’s working, that is.”

 

“Atta boy, Jack,” Arin beamed, pushing him playfully, “Now we can drink to our hearts content.”

 

The drinks came by, each of them different kinds of cocktails. Dan’s was sunset orange with a cherry bouncing in the drink, a pineapple slice slipped on the rim of the glass. Arin raised his own and said, “To our friendship!”

 

The group raised their drinks and sung back, then drank. Dan felt the refreshing taste of pineapple, orange and rum blend together as it went down his throat. After taking his drink and placing it back down on the table, he looked happily among his peers chat to each other. Even Barry, who usually liked to hang back and watch, looked cheerful talking to Ross and Suzy. Dan settled in his chair and watched Arin chat with Mark, chugging his drink.

 

The ordered seconds, but Arin got Dan’s attention and they headed away from the group. Arin pulled out a thick blunt and grinned mischievously at Dan.

 

“Fancy a smoke-up before we hit the road and continue on our grand adventure?”

 

“You damn well know I do,” Dan said. Arin sparked it up, took a huge hit and coughed loudly. Dan laughed as Arin took a second hit.

 

“Didn’t Mark want one?” Dan asked, glancing back to the table where Mark was nuzzled in Jack’s shoulder.

 

“Nah. He said he’s already baked off his nut.”

 

Dan chuckled and took the stick off him. “You rolled this with tobacco paper?”

 

“Yeah. Let’s you pack more in. Plus gives you that nicotine rush without any of the harmful shit.”

 

They stood on the shore, passing it between each other and staring out to the sea. The sky was deep blue and the dark ocean lapped at their bare toes. Suddenly Arin jumped up and pointed across the beach, yelling, “Holy shit, look at that!” and broke into a run. Dan jogged after him, eyes wide with awe: the waves that were lapping onto the beach were sparkling a glowy neon blue, like dots of sapphire stars on the ground. Arin hopped excitedly around them, nervous to touch them, with the blunt in his teeth.

 

“Isn’t that cool?!” Arin cried, jumping up and down excitedly, “What is it? It’s crazy!”

 

“I’ve seen it on the Internet before,” Dan replied, treading around the glowing blue carefully, “Here, the group’s coming over – maybe Suzy will know. Hey, Suz! What’s going on?”

 

“I’m not sure,” she replied, “But this is really rare for it to happen around here.”

 

“It’s called a Sea Sparkle,” Barry explained. He put his foot in the blue and lifted it, leaving a neon footprint in the sand. He smiled happily. “It’s emitted by phytoplanktons when they get disturbed. It’s super rare around these parts. We’re really lucky to see it in America.”

 

Arin was waddling around the blue, leaving footprints in the sand. “This is so cool. Oh my God, don’t look directly into them. I think I’m tripping.”

 

Dan pulled on the blunt, staring at the blue glow around his feet. Ross was drawing a penis with his big toe.

 

After the glow faded, they headed down the road and towards an all-night nightclub. It was a popular place for college kids due to the lack of security stopping under 18s from ordering drinks, with a huge stage that glowed neon lights and colourful smoke. It was already pretty packed in there when they entered, with people leaping up and down to deep indie-electronic music.

 

_If anything like this ever struck you_  
If ever a likeness had you scraping, the pockets avail  
Whatever you like when you came in  
Whatever you use, whatever you chose  
Whatever your acronym 

 

“Holy shit, I love this song!” Arin bellowed, seizing Dan by the wrist and jumping onto the dance floor. Dan’s cheeks turned hot as he yelled over the music, “I don’t know if I should… I’ve never danced before...”

 

“Come on, it’ll be fun,” Arin replied. They danced together in the middle of the floor, among all the other sweaty teenagers and adults. Dan followed Arin’s lead, swaying to the beat, feeling the ener gy of everyone around him.

 

__They say that either you're out or you're in  
But you're on!  
They say that either you're out or you swim  
On your own  


“Way to go, Dan!” Arin shouted, moving closer to Dan, “Bust a fucking nut!”

 

Dan cackled with laughter, rubbing an eye. He suddenly became incredibly aware of everything and everyone around him, the energy emitted from the people dancing around him, the carelessness and joy and humour.

 

“This has been really fun,” Dan said, “I’ve known you for… what? A few days? And it feels like I’ve known you forever.”

 

“I know, right?”

 

“I don’t deserve this, Arin. You’re so fucking cool, and a lot of people love you – and you’re hanging out with me so much. You’ve gotten the whole group together and it’s like we’re all old friends. I shouldn’t be here. You’re too cool for me.”

 

_ What if we started what became?  
Don't get found out again!  _

 

“Dan. Don’t put yourself down like that! You’re a really fucking rad dude. I wish you’d see that. A lot of people like you too – you just need to get out there more. Put those headphones away more and see there’s a whole world around you waiting for you. Dan, you’re a much better person then you think you are.”

 

_What if we started what remains?  
You saved our lives again. _

 

Dan felt something stir in his heart and then fire up. He raised his hands in the air and began to really dance, swaying his hips to the side and head in the air. He felt Arin move closer to him, following his lead. The way they moved felt so easy and smooth. Dan suddenly began to laugh, and couldn’t stop, and Arin did too. They laughed and danced and felt their energy go through the roof, intoxicated both on cannabis, alcohol but most of all the excitement of the situation.  


After the song ended, the group met up again at the bar. Barry was sitting on one of the stools, eyes out-of-focus and a dreamy grin on his face. Dan sidled up to him, leaning on the bar and said, “You okay there, Bar?”

 

“Fuck yeah,” he replied, his smile widening, “Isn’t this fun so far?”

 

“Are you drunk?”

 

“I think so. I’m feel like I just wanna laugh forever… do something fun… but I feel kinda dizzy too. Isn’t this fun? I feel awesome. It’s really nice of Arin to bring us altogether like this.”  


“Yeah. It is.”

 

“And it’s you, isn’t it!” Barry exclaimed suddenly, pushing Dan playfully on the shoulder, “You brought me into it! Because you talked to me. Thank you for doing that. I didn’t think I’d meet any friends here.” He hiccuped and giggled. “I’m real lucky.”

 

“Ssh. Don’t say that. You’re wonderful to have around.”

 

“Awh.” His cheeks went pink and he grinned bashfully. “Daaaan. You’re too nice.”

 

“It’s okay.”

 

Barry beamed and slid off his chair to talk to Holly. Dan leaned back against the bar and sighed.

 

“Hey there, handsome.” A girl with long brown hair with the tips dyed an ombre blonde slipped over to him, smiling with her soft blue eyes.

 

“Hi,” Dan replied, looking through the crowd for someone to hurry to so he could avoid the girl. She was pretty, but probably had too much make-up on and her outfit was _way_ too revealing. It took a lot to not stare down at the large breasts on her chest that were on show.

 

“What brings you here, huh?” She said, looking Dan up and down and biting her bottom lip gently.

 

“Oh, er… just… out and about with some buddies.”

 

“Catching some girls, huh?”

 

“I, er...” Dan felt awkward. He did not want this girl around him.

 

“Well, looks like you caught a fish. A cute guy like you shouldn’t be single.” She leaned up against him, stroking the side of his thigh and licking her lips gently.

 

“Um...”

 

“That’s because he isn’t,” a voice spoke, and Arin appeared out of nowhere, swinging an arm around his neck. “He’s mine. Sorry, honey. I got here first.”

 

She instantly whipped her hand away, scowling slightly. “You’re… gay…?”

 

“Ya huh, baby, I like that big, juicy cock! What’s that look for? Don’t you too?”

 

“I didn’t… know he was… he tried to hit on me...”

 

“You kidding me?” Dan replied incredulously, “You literally came up to me and start to flirt!”

 

“I saw the whole thing, dumbass,” Arin replied. He had his fingers tangled through Dan’s hair. “So move along, please.”

 

“Shouldn’t you be at a gay bar rather than here?”

 

“Who the Hell said this isn’t a place for gay people? Fuck off already, will you?”

 

She gave out an irritable snort and moved away. Dan grinned at Arin his thanks and he winked back in reply.

 

After they had finished up at the club, they all left to head down for some more snacks. The cool night air felt fresh on Dan’s skin after the stuffy, sweaty indoors; he gazed around at the bright lights of downtown, the soft glow of the white moon hanging overhead. The beach was still glowing blue.

 

“Looky here,” Jack said. He kicked a shopping cart out into the pathway and pointed towards a sloping hill leading further into town. “Let’s bomb the hill!”

 

“Do you _want_ to kill yourself?” Holly exclaimed.

 

“Hell yeah, baby!”

 

“He’s drunk,” Mark laughed, stumbling and almost falling into Jack, “He’s drunk of his arse.”

 

“So are you! You… you arse!”

 

Arin pushed past them, grabbed the cart and started to run up the hill. The group started to laugh, hardly believing that he was going to do it. It was only when he jumped in and started to thrust to push himself forward that they backed onto the pavement.

 

“He’s gonna kill himself,” Suzy whispered, clutching Holly’s arm.

 

“Wait!” Ross bellowed. He sprinted up the hill and to the cart and pushed it, then jumped in himself. “ADVANCE!”

 

“They’re mental,” Dan gaped.

 

The trolley rushed down the hill, and the two occupants yelled in both absolute terror and excitement; at one moment, Dan thought it was going to tip, but Ross lunged backward and balanced it. They eventually settled on flat level and climbed out, sweating and giggling nervously.

 

“My heart is going so fast,” Ross breathed.

 

“That was AWESOME!” Arin yelled, and started to push the cart back up. Jack chased after him.

 

“Are you gonna have a go?” Barry whispered into Dan’s ear.

 

“… Yeah. Yeah, I will.”

 

“Good. I will if you will.”

 

So after Arin and Jack went, Dan seized the cart and rushed up the hill, dragging Barry along with him who began to splutter: “A-Actually… I’m not sure… Dan...”

 

“Come on!” He laughed, jumping into the cart, “Don’t get out of it now! I’m with you – it’ll be okay.”

 

Barry smiled nervously, and pushed the cart before quickly jumping in. The descent was slow at first, and then they began to rush down the hill. It was even scarier than Dan had expected; he felt the wind in his thick curls, his eyes starting to stream and Barry yelling behind him. He stretched out his arms and bellowed with excitement and fear. When they began to slow, Barry drunkenly tried to scramble out whilst it was still moving and the cart tipped over. Dan felt the smell of tarmac hit his nostrils and the rough concrete scrape his skin.

 

“Holy shit! Are you okay?” Arin asked, rushing over to help the pair to their feet.

 

“That was terrifying,” Dan gasped. Barry was lying on the ground, cackling madly. Dan shook his head. “He’s gone mad.”

 

“I think we better take Barry home,” Suzy chuckled, crouching down and urging him to stand.

 

“Good fucking plan,” Ross agreed, pointing ahead, “Looks like we’ve brought some attention.”

 

Red and blue lights were flashing towards them. In their hurry, the group dragged Barry to his feet who was hiccuping heavily and ran through the alleyways and streets back towards the campus. Dan daren’t look behind him, in fear an officer might see his face. But they managed to get their way back to the campus, panting and giggling.

 

“Well, I’ll call that a day,” Holly laughed, rubbing her eyes, “I’ll head back down to the dorms then. Suzy, you catching Z’s at my room?”

 

“No. Sidney moved out, finally. I can’t believe that creep even managed to room with me in the first place, I had no idea everyone else got partnered up with people of the same gender.”

 

“That punk has too much control over the school.” Holly turned determinedly towards the group and said, rather seriously, “We’re going to need to change that.” Everyone nodded in agreement. Holly kissed Ross on the forehead, bade everyone goodnight and headed towards the second set of dorms with Suzy.

 

“She’s great, isn’t she?” Ross said, wobbling on his feet.

 

“Yeah,” Dan nodded, “Love is a wonderful thing, huh?”

 

“Hell yeah,” Jack replied, leaning into Mark’s arms.

 

They sneaked into the dorm corridor into the dark blue darkness. It was pitch-black and no lights were on, apart from a couple of dorm rooms where pale yellow light streamed under the doors.

 

“That was a blast,” Mark grinned, “I’m gonna have such a hangover in the morning, but now you’ll have to excuse me whilst I go have gay sex with a certain someone. Not naming any names...”

 

“Have fun, you homosexual fuckers,” Arin smiled. Mark waved them off with a finger gun and dragged a sleepy Jack towards his dorm. Dan helped a very tipsy Barry upstairs with Ross and Arin into an equally dark hallway.

 

“It was cool meeting you guys,” Ross smiled cheerfully, “Thank fuck I have no class tomorrow. See you soon.”

 

They waved goodbye to Ross, and helped Barry to his dorm room. He looked incredibly tired but still weakly smiling, occasionally letting out a little giggle.

 

“You going to be okay?” Dan asked, “Not gonna throw up or anything?”

 

“Nah… just gonna sleep...”

 

“Okay. Be safe.”

 

“That was fun, huh?”

 

“Yeah. It was. Have a good night, Bar.”

 

“I have. G’night, Danny. G’night, Ar.”

 

They stepped out into the hallway and closed the door. It was just Dan and Arin left. Dan looked up into Arin’s arms and smiled softly.

 

“That was one of the best nights I’ve ever had,” Dan said, “They’re usually really depressing. Sitting around inside, smoking bowl after bowl… binging some shit on Netflix… but it’s been a real adventure today. It has for everyone. Thanks, Arin.”

 

“Dude,” Arin replied, his cheeks pink and soft brown eyes glistening, “It was only great because of you and everyone else. _That’s_ what made the night.”

 

“And, uh… thanks for helping out with that chick. She was alright, but really not my type.”

 

“It’s alright. I didn’t really expect girls to be your type.” Arin winked slyly, then suddenly leaned up and kissed Dan lightly on the cheek. Dan’s eyes widened as Arin leaned away and walked away, giving a two-fingered salute as he strolled towards his dorm.

 

“See you later, Danny-boy.”

 

The door to Arin’s room closed shut. Dan stood there, staring blankly at Arin’s dorm door, for a few moments. A tiny smile appeared on his face.

 

“I will, Hanson.”

 

The light to Arin’s dorm room did not turn off at all that night.


	5. Fireflies

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As winter sets in, Dan starts to feel lonely and goes to unhealthy methods to try and stop it. But there are much healthier way coming his way.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! Sorry it's been a while since I posted. I started college and it's been really hectic. I don't usually get back home until 6pm. Plus I'm still trying to figure out the plot for this... I know where I'm going with it, but I just need to make a real layout of each chapter. I'm figuring it out!
> 
> This is a pretty angsty chapter... but with a happy ending!
> 
> I hope you enjoy. Thanks to everyone who has left kudos and comments so far!! They always made my day :3
> 
> Edit: Forgot to format the chapter! Sorry!

_Arin kissed my cheek. What does that mean? Why’d he do it? I haven’t talked to him about it yet… I will though. Eventually. But anyways! Holy crap! Last night was so much fun. The gang all rocked up together and we hung out downtown. It was crazy. We went cliff-diving, drank at this tiki bar, went into this nightclub for a while and raced down the hill in a shopping cart. Sidney turned up and we kicked his ass – I still feel pretty bad about it, honestly. And some girl tried hitting on me, but Arin turned up and got her off my ass. Arin’s super cool… and kind of flirty towards me. But it’s nothing. Just the whole “no homo” thing. Though why he kissed my cheek… it seemed genuine. Anyways, time to go to sleep. Another day tomorrow!_

 

November was starting to roll around. The warm winds of summer had died long ago, and the town was now encased within the depths of autumn. Orange and yellow leaves fluttered down softly, dancing on the breeze and settling on the ground; the campus was full of students encased in woolly jumpers, large hoodies and scarves pushed up to their nose. Everyone had their minds eagerly set on the end of term where Christmas would come around.

Dan was lying on his bed, absolutely stoned out of his head.

He had fallen sick, like a fair many of students. For the first couple of days, he had been visited by his many friends in hopes he would perk up and get better. His teacher Brian would come by occasionally so they could work on the project in his room before Christmas rolled up. It was already going incredibly well, even with Dan ill: they were finishing up the music arrangements, and as soon as Dan was better he’d go straight into voice recording.

But now winter was settling in, a very old and familiar feeling started to creep up on him. He bitingly called it laziness, but Barry insisted it was seasonal depression. A cold feeling of emptiness and pessimism was now a common occurrence and it was to the point where Dan started to shut himself away, locking his door and spending day after day getting incredibly stoned and doing jack shit. Playing video games, listening to music, reading, watching TV… not even Brian came in, who had now finished the musical arrangements, or Arin, who seemed busy with other people.

 _It wasn’t going to last_ , Dan thought sadly, _We were all different anyways. Too different._

He didn’t even see Barry anymore.

Nobody seemed to care. Nobody wanted to be around Dan. It had always been that way.

At 2am one night, Dan found he couldn’t sleep. No matter how much he tossed and turned, he just couldn’t. He sat up dejectedly and pulled his grinder towards him, only to see there was no weed inside. There was no weed left in his jar either. His bong was empty.

“Shitpants,” he growled to himself, “Dickbags. I can’t be arsed.”

But Dan didn’t want to sleep sober. Pot would help. Anything would help. He pulled out his phone and sent a text to Coda.”

_Hey, it’s Dan. You up?_

He rubbed his eyes and stood up, pulling on a leather jacket and shoes. He was going to find _something_ to help him. Dan had hated being sober lately and tried to use anything to help his emotions out, so not to end up in a mental meltdown. It had always been pot up to this point, but if Coda couldn’t deal then he’d have to turn to drinks… or even cigarettes, if he had to…

Dan’s phone buzzed.

_Yeh but not dealin tonight, sorry. Pigs on my ass._

The police had busted Coda? “Fuck sake,” Dan groaned. He did not know anyone else in the area who would deal. Apart from Buster… but he wasn’t going to turn for Buster. He’d probably offer some coke or other nasty shit in addition. Dan wrapped himself in a coat and scarf and quietly slipped out of the bedroom, sneaking off the campus and heading towards the western part of town which included a place simply known as “The Gas Station” - the only place in town that dealt to underage kids. Nobody went there for drinks – unless they were desperate – but everyone went for cigarettes. If Dan couldn’t have THC, he’d have to settle for nicotine.

The west was cold and dark, with almost nobody in sight. The gas station glowed a pale white, and the sidewalk underneath Dan’s feet was cracked with tufts of grass and weeds peeking out. He walked towards the gas station, arms folded across his chest. Inside smelt strongly of bleach, with packs of cheap store-brand food on the shelves. Dan headed towards the counter.

“Pack of twenty?” He asked.

“What kind?” The cashier looked deadpan.

“Marlboro, I guess.”

 _He clearly just doesn’t care_ , Dan thought to himself as the man reached over at brought out a pack. Dan paid for them and stepped outside, pulling out a cigarette. He stared down at it, considering how neat it was compared to his rolled joints. He thought of Arin’s messy attempt at rolling for the first time, and smiled slightly. Then stopped and scowled.

“Why’d they all leave me?” He whispered to himself.

Dan brought the cigarette to his lips, lit it and inhaled. A cough rose from his lungs, burning his throat and making his eyes tear up, but he held it back and exhaled. He started to stroll back down the street towards the park.

The park was quiet. Dan leant against the railings, staring out into the lake whilst smoking.

“For fucking sure, he’s a twat!”

Dan jumped and turned. Grouped on a bench several yards away from him were a group of boys. The smell of booze was strong and he could see wisps of smoke rising up. Dan recognized one of them as the dark-haired, battle-worn Buster; he quickly pulled up his hood, hoping he wouldn’t be spotted.

“He acts so full of himself,” one of his buddies continued, “It’s so fuckin’ annoying. Who _cares_ about your rich-ass Dad? He thinks just cause his Pops made the Principal fall head over heels for him that he can do whatever the fuck he wants.”

“He can,” his friend next to him replied, swigging on a beer bottle, “But not on our turf. His Dad got no control over anything past the school and North part of town – ya’know, the fuckin’ suburbs with all those fat white people?”

Dan listened in carefully, totally puzzled. Buster had been with him only a couple days ago – why were they suddenly mortal enemies? Perhaps it was because Buster had fled with his friends when Arin beat up Sid?

“Glad we ditched the punk,” Buster replied, answering Dan’s question, “If he can’t face up to a fight with Hanson, then why the fuck does he think he’s got a place with us? The shit we deal with-”

“Hold up. Hanson? _Arin_ Hanson? The little punk from the city?”

“Yeah, that’s him.”

“Holy sh-it!” He began to laugh, and his group started to join in snorting too, “I can’t believe he got totally punked by that nerd!”

“He acts real cool and tough now,” Buster replied, “But he weren’t like that in his old school, huh? Nobody liked him there. He’s just putting on a show for those new buddies of his.”

“He’s got friends?”

“Yeah. And, I’ll admit… quite a few. But nothing special.”

“Like who?”

Buster took a swig of the bottle, smacked his lips and hummed to himself. “Well, there’s some quiet nerd… Suzy Berhow… Mark Fishbach, the red-haired kid, and his boyfriend with the green hair. Oh, some guy with curly-ass hair. Like a Jew-fro.”

 _Jew-Fro?_ Dan spat on the pavement, and realized how much he had been smoking. He was going to throw up in the morning.

“And Sidney got beat by those guys? What a pussy!”

“Damn right. You done with those beers? Let’s go downtown, I wanna get laid before the night’s out.”

As they moved away, heading down the path, Dan threw his cigarette to the ground and rubbed it with a foot.

Arin was a liar. Nobody even knew what the real Arin was. He had just been putting on a show the entire time, fooling Dan into thinking he was some cool hot-shot.

Dan rubbed his eyes and exhaled cool air. He didn’t have to get so worked up. By the sounds of it, Arin had a rough time in school and moved to the town in hopes of it improving. Arin didn’t have to disclose that information. He lit up another cigarette.

Barry had even said, ages ago, that Arin had came from the same school from the city – although Arin had made it seem like it was further, as if in a completely different state. And again, Arin claimed he simply just “moved away”… but it sounded like it was because Arin had problems at school being lonely. They had acted as if Arin was an easy fight. Was Arin just some weak nerd?

Dan straightened up, looking in the direction of the school and spotted Arin Hanson going down the path carrying a bottle. They stopped and gazed quietly at each other. Arin looked tired, but not exhausted, with his long hair tied into a bun and wore a casual hoodie and tracksuit bottoms.

“Where are your shoes?” Dan asked half-humorously.

Arin smiled but there wasn’t much feeling in it. “I didn’t have time to put them on.”

Arin knew, just by looking at Dan, that he was not well. His hair was unkempt and tangly, his face pale and deep purple shadows under his heavy, sombre eyes. Jammed between his teeth was a lit cigarette, with an almost full pack peeking out of his coat pocket.

“Why are you out?” Dan questioned.

“Ross saw you leave. CCTV footage, remember? He came and told me, so I decided to come after you. You’re ill, so we were worried why you decided to go out… are you smoking a cigarette?”

“… Yeah. What about it?”

“I thought… never mind. Let’s sit down. Crack open a cold one.” Arin winked and flashed a smile, and Dan couldn’t help smile slightly back. He sat down next to him, and said, “Good. Because I need to talk.”

“Shoot.”

“You’re a damn liar, Hanson.”

Arin’s eyebrows lowered but he didn’t say anything. Dan told Arin exactly what he had heard from Barry and from Buster – about him not really being from out of town, and not being who he said he was. When he finished, Arin just silently chugged the beer and passed it to Dan.

“I’m a fucking moron,” Arin spoke. His tone was blank and serious. “I always have been. Nobody’s been interested in me. So when I came here, I had to make myself interesting. I act like such a hot-shot because… fuck it. I don’t care. I’ll bomb down the hill in a trolley, I’ll jump off a 40 foot cliff, I’ll drink and smoke my guts out, and maybe I’ll die in the process – _good_. I’ll go out in a fucking blaze of glory.” He paused whilst Dan drank and added quietly, “I’m rambling.”

“It’s all good. I’m listening.”

“I just… wasn’t interesting. I was a boring person, and nobody talked to me. So I didn’t talk to anyone. I just sat alone and drew stuff, and I was okay with that. Other people weren’t. I was a dork because of it – a lonely, pathetic dork.” He scratched his nose. “So Buster decided to show off with his huge ego and tiny penis… and beat me up.”

Dan looked up at Arin. His eyes were dark and empty, deep in a sad reminiscence. “I got a couple of sweet scars from where Buster pulled a knife on me. Oh no, not stabbing,” he added, looking up at Dan’s slight gasp of surprise, “Just sliced me up a bit. It could have been much worse. So yeah, the Principal looked it all over – he kicked Buster out, advised me to move to the academy and I guess Barry came along too. So when I came here, I couldn’t let what happened at the school happen here. I had to make myself _interesting_ so I did – and don’t think this is all just a show. I’ve always wanted to be like this. And now I’m doing it… it feels easy. This is who I am now. I’m a lot stronger, and confident… and maybe a little happier.

“So please don’t think I’m not just tricking you or something. I don’t wanna hurt anyone, especially not you, Dan.”

Dan looked down at his feet, then chugged down the drink and spat on the ground. “If you told us from the beginning...”

“Yeah. Again – I’m a moron. I should’ve. But I was worried I’d just become the butt of the joke, rather than… whatever you saw me as.”

“See you as. You’re the real shit, Arin! You’ve changed and improved. You won’t take shit from anyone – not from Sidney, not from Buster, not from the teachers. You’ll go down fighting till the very end. You’ve got a sense of purpose that’s… terrifying. But you’re also a very mellow dude sometimes. Especially when you’re coming down from a high.”

Arin nodded, taking the bottle off Dan and drinking. They listened to the quietness of the night – the high-pitched chirping of the crickets, the chilly wind blowing the trees, the soft rumble of car engines far in the distance.

“That’s why I asked you to befriend Barry, you know,” Arin added, looking inside the bottle to see if there was any left, “Because I saw me in him, and I didn’t want to watch him end up alone like I did. He needed friends. So did you.”

“And I got ‘em. Though… they’ve been sort of absent lately...”

“I’m sorry. Everyone’s really caught up on classwork. Even I haven’t seen them lately.”

“That’s okay. Honestly… I was really worried that everyone forgot about me. That I wasn’t important.” Arin looked over at Dan. He was staring sadly down at his feet, with tears rimming at his eyes. “I don’t think I am. I’m not important… I’m not interesting, and I can’t make myself interesting. I don’t even matter.”

“Dan.”

“I wish I stayed in New Jersey!” Dan cried, standing up. The cigarette packet fell out of his pocket and on the ground. “I wish I never grew up! I fucking _hate_ winter. It’s so cold and lonesome! It always has been! All these fucking emotions… and everyone makes it worse!”

“Danny!”

Dan grabbed the bottle and threw it, watching it hit the railings and land cracked on the ground. He stormed over, picking it off the ground and smashed it against the railings, cracking it in half. Arin was already on his feet, holding out his hands, partly in defence and partly to calm him down. Dan was seething with anger; his foot met the end half of the glass, watching it splinter into pieces. He pointed the sharp, cut end of the bottle towards Arin who just stretched out his arms closer.

“Leave me alone, okay?” Dan moaned, feeling his hands freeze against the cold glass, “You’re killing me.”

“Put it down. It’s okay. Let’s go back.”

“Fuck off! I hate you!” Dan yelled, “Why are you doing this to me?! You act so flirty around me – just _explain why already_! Do you like me? Or is it a joke? I can’t fucking tell sometimes!”

“I…”

“I hate this stupid town. It makes it feel like such a wonderful place… but it’s not. It’s a shithole, full of druggies and assholes and rich snobby dickheads and pissheads and… is there not a decent person in this whole place?”

“ _Yes_! There is! It’s you! You – and Barry – and Ross… and Mark, Jack, Suzy, Holly – maybe me… our group are the decent people. Calm down, buddy. Dan!” Arin leapt forward suddenly as Dan made a move to impale his chest on the bottle, grabbing his arm. “You don’t wanna do that. Put it down and come home with me. I’ll look after you.”

“A… no… go away.”

“Throw it away.”

There was a quiet moment of silence, and Arin’s phone began to buzz. He made no move to answer it, still gently gripping on Dan’s wrist. Dan let the bottle fall out of his hand, watching it shatter next to the rest of the pieces, then sunk down onto his knees. Arin crouched down next to him, an arm around his back. His phone stopped buzzing, then started off again.

“Answer it,” Dan mumbled. Arin hesitated, and answered.

“Hello?” Arin asked.

“Arin!” Dan could hear Ross’s voice from the earphone. “Where are you? Are you on campus?”

“No… we were about to head back.”

“Don’t go back. Sidney’s snitched – he’s gone to Coops and said you and some others in Buster’s crew broke curfew. I saw it on the cameras. I’ve deleted footage of you two leaving – but you can’t come back now. He’s patrolling with the other security dudes, ready to bust you both.”

“We can sneak in,” Arin replied determinedly.

“Do you want to risk it? If you get caught, you’ll be fucked. And Sidney will probably get you even deeper for kicking his ass twice.”

“And I’ll do it a third fucking time. The bastard… snitching on us twice. This means war.”

“If you want to risk it, go for it. Or you can find some place outside campus to stay the night and come back in the morning.”

Dan was leaning against the railings, listening to the conversation. He felt so emotionally drained that if they were caught, he just wouldn’t care. But something that Arin said made him lift his head up and think. _This means war._

And it clicked.

There already was a war – and he and Arin had triggered it. Sidney had been kicked out of Buster’s gang, so he was using the power he had to snitch on Buster for being off-campus past curfew (plus adding Arin into the mixture, for revenge). As soon as Buster found out he had been snitched on, then he was going to retaliate – most likely with physical violence.

And his group – Arin’s gang – was in the middle. They could not side with Sidney nor Buster. It was a three-way war.

“We’ll camp out here then, I guess,” Arin sighed dejectedly, “Shit, now I wish I brought fucking shoes. Are you staying up?”

“Yeah. No class tomorrow.”

“Alert us if anything major happens – if they get the police in or some shit. I dunno.”

“Will do. Stay safe.”

Arin hung up and looked at Dan. “I guess you heard all of that. That pig… I’m gonna burn Sid’s house down.”

“I don’t think you’ll need to. I reckon Buster would do it himself.” He explained his revelation to Arin, and afterwards carefully added: “So we have to be careful now. Any action we take on either of them will have consequences.”

Arin nodded thoughtfully. “I think you’re right. Damn, you’re clever – you know that? Let’s go find some place to sleep. Wait – I got the perfect place. Can you stand up for me?”

It took about 45 minutes to get there – carefully taking a long route around the campus and past a block of off-campus dorm rooms, towards the Oak Forest. This was the prime place for outdoor parties: a huge oak forest that stretched for a few miles, where the old came for a leisurely walk and the young to set up bonfires and get wasted. Dan followed Arin deep into the woods and came across a den made out of sticks with pine leaves for cover, where there were some old blankets on the ground. Dan gazed around the air with amazement as he became aware of fireflies glowing yellow and green hovering around them. It was strangely unreal.

“I wish I brought shoes,” Arin muttered, hopping on one foot to the other, “That rock path killed me.”

Dan kicked off his socks and shoes and turned to Arin. “There. Now we can both suffer.” Arin laughed and Dan dug his toes into the dirt.

“This is where I went with a few cousins who came to visit in October,” Arin explained, peering into the den, “We got so stoned that when the fireflies came out we thought the stars had fallen down.” He laughed suddenly. “That sounds like some edgy musical lyric.”

“ _You would not believe your eyes,_ ” Dan sang cheerfully, “ _If ten million fireflies-”_

Arin got up and span around the bugs, then loudly bellowed: _“I GET A THOUSAND HUGS FROM TEN MILLION LIGHTNING BUGS!”_

“Wait,” Dan interrupted, getting up and touching Arin’s shoulder, “Does that means the bugs are hugging you a thousand times each? Or are only 1/10th of them hugging you?”

Arin’s shoulders slumped and stared ahead in a dead-pan thought. “I… don’t know.”

“Life has many unsolved mysteries,” Dan replied.

Arin cracked a smile and turned to Dan. “You’re an unsolved mystery, Daniel.”

“Who calls me _Daniel_?! And I told you… stop flirting with me. I don’t know if you’re serious or not anymore.”

Arin looked around him, wearing a small smile and his eyes shining against the soft glow of the bugs. “Well… we’re in a very romantic setting, aren’t we? I don’t see a better time than this. If only it was sunset.”

Dan stayed quiet. He wasn’t sure what to expect from Arin – and yet… it was all too obvious.

“How long are you supposed to wait until you know they’re ‘The One’?” Arin asked, looking up at the starry blue sky, “Days? Months? Years? Because for me, it was the moment I laid eyes on that kid with the curly hair wearing headphones at the back of class.”

“I took an earphone out when you sat next to me,” Dan replied, “And, back then… _nobody_ made me do that. But you did.”

“So… er…” Arin’s cheeks were starting to glow a soft pink. “Do you… like me too? Like… like-like?”

Dan laughed loudly, stepped forward and pressed his lips against Arin’s.

Arin’s lips were soft and warm against his own. His hands gently moved towards Dan’s waist, and his own touched his hair – his warm, soft brown hair. There were no fireworks exploding in his chest, like many described in the first kiss. He wasn’t sure what he was feeling, but one word just kept popping up in his mind: safe. He felt safe.

Dan’s bushy, curly hair tickled Arin’s forehead but it didn’t bother him in the slightest. All he could feel was a rushing warmth inside of him, as if the jigsaw puzzle had clicked together and everything just _made sense_. It was Dan. It always had been Dan. Why had he waited?

They pulled away and started to giggle nervously.

“That was rad,” Dan said.

“Eh. You’re okay.”

They burst out laughing, scaring some of the fireflies around them and kept on kissing like their life depended on it. Neither of them noticed Arin’s phone, that had slipped out of their pocket, buzzing.

*

“I’m not lying, I swear,” Sidney cried out, following Cooper down the corridor towards the main entrance, “Check the footage again. You probably just… skipped it!”

“I looked for you, and there’s nobody there!” Cooper replied irritably, “It’s just an empty campus – the only person I see is you! Maybe I should report _you_ for breaking curfew!”

“ _Me?_ You can’t do that! I’m not even off-campus! If you dare do that, I’ll tell my Dad. He’ll get you fired. You know he will.”

“You’re leading me on. However much I reckon those brats have sneaked off-campus, there’s no proof.”

“Look in their rooms then! They won’t be there!”

“I don’t have permission to enter the rooms, not without the Principal letting me! And don’t even _think_ about telling me to get it then – I’m not waking him up at 2 in the morning!”

“I basically _am_ the Principal in this stupid place. So get-”

“Sir!”

One of the guards charged through the doors, breathless with sweat going down his forehead. He had a proud beam on his face. “We got ‘em! They came wandering back on campus and we nicked them at the main gate!”

Sidney’s face lit up and turned to Cooper. “I told you – I damn told you – and you said-”

“Shut up for a moment, kid,” Cooper snapped. He turned to the officer. “Where are they now?”

“Montague and that new guy are hauling them in now.” He opened the door wide and called out: “Hey, Monty! Here!”

Two officers pushed the two young men through the double-doors, who looked angry and sullen. Cooper smirked and folded his arms, relishing in his superiority against the two criminals in front of him. He puffed out his chest. “Well, well. Looks like you two boys got nicked. It’s Lewis and Benjamin, right?” The two boys huffed sourly and he boomed: “Answer me!”

“Yeh,” Benjamin grunted.

“Well then – we’ll deposit you two to the spare rooms in the basement and you can spend the night there so we can keep an eye on you, and tomorrow you can have a chat with the Principal to see what punishment-”

“What about the others?!” Sidney shouted suddenly, stomping his foot.

“What others?” Monty asked, looking angry at the thought of patrolling the grounds even longer.

“There were two others – Arin and Buster. Why isn’t Buster with you?” Sidney snapped at the boys, who suddenly looked a bit more confident sizing up to Sidney.

“Why we gonna tell you?” Lewis growled, “You acted like our mate and then snitched on us. We’re gonna end you.”

“Well, if they come, we’ll be ready,” Cooper replied, “Riley, take them two downstairs.”

“Cooper, you can’t-”

“That’s _sir_ to you! Now scram!”

Sidney sneered irritably and stalked off back to his room, feeling his cheeks flush hot. Meanwhile, in his bedroom, Ross O’Donavan sat in his bedroom with Barry Kramer – both of them watching through the CCTV that Ross had hacked into with smiles that had a mixture of emotions: with glee as they watched Sidney stalk back into his room, relief that Arin and Dan had not been caught but most of all with joy after Arin announced in their Facebook group chat that he and Dan were now a couple.


	6. Midnight Swim

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dan sits an eventful and memorable exam, Christmas plans rolls up and a house party takes an unexpected turn.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone! It's a new chapter! Not much to say here, really. Just thank you for the feedback, you've given some wonderful comments so far and it's so nice to hear it all. I'm really happy it's making you all feel something. So enjoy!
> 
> Song used at the party and chapter name is Midnight Swim by Brock Berrigan: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AFaQ7D0FNx0
> 
> I also wrote this chapter to this song, which fits the mood quite nicely: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TyJCrYc5OaI
> 
> Enjoy and much love! <3

_Arin and I are a thing now. I never thought that would be a thing I thought I’d ever say. First of all, I’m dating a man – I thought I was straight, but I guess I swing both ways. Or perhaps Arin is an exception. Secondly, I’m dating Arin. I thought we were just soulmates, spiritually connected in a platonic bond. Turns out it’s a romantic thing. But since the night at the park, where I gained a smoking habit (which I’m sorting out) everyone has been hanging out again. December practice exams are coming up though, so our hanging out sessions is basically power revision followed by video games and a blunt or two. It’s stressful as shit, especially now with the drama between us, Buster’s gang and Sidney with the looming, omnipresent shadow of his father… it’s only a matter of time before someone takes their revenge._

 

~ 3 Months Earlier ~

 

“Check it out!” Jack grinned. Mark swayed and leaned against Jack’s arm, smiling, as a familiar face with unfamiliar hair bounced through the crowd.

 

“Picked up the trend then, huh? Blueberry?” Mark teased.

 

“Shut up, it’s cool,” Ethan replied, his cheeks turning pink. He moved his fingers through his bright blue hair, and added, “I like it.”

 

“So do I. You look great with it.”

 

The three headed down the stairs towards the music department on the bottom floor, listening to the muffled bangs of the drums, chimes of a piano and the bustling of activity in the recording rooms. A figure bumped past Ethan.

 

“Sorry!” They both exclaimed, and quickly brushed past each other. Ethan glanced towards the figure – his dark brown curls bounced against his leather jacket and he reeked of cannabis.

 

“He smells,” Ethan pointed out, eyeing Mark with raised eyebrows.

 

“How do you know?” Mark replied suspiciously, “Has my blue baby boy been doing the marijuanas?”

 

“No! I just know exactly how it fucking smells, because you swoon into class all the time reeking of weed and eyes bloodshot to hell.”

 

“More red than after he spanks my arse.”

 

“ _Jack_! _”_ Mark roared, looking amused but highly humiliated. The trio snorted and giggled immaturely; Ethan shook his head, his grin fading, and continued: “Who is that guy? Maybe you should be friends with him, Mark.”

 

“I want to,” Mark replied honestly. The group leaned against the wall outside their classroom, propping a foot against the wall or resting their head against the concrete. “But I don’t think _he’s_ interested. He’s not interested in anyone.”

 

“Nobody?”

 

“He’s always got headphones in. Doesn’t talk to anyone, keeps to himself. He seems like an interesting dude, sure… I don’t know. He doesn’t like to involve himself, I suppose.”

 

“What’s his name?”

 

“Dan,” Jack answered, scratching the tufts of brown hair from his chin, “Dan Avidan. I think.”

 

“Captured in his own little world,” Ethan murmured quietly to himself.

 

*

~ Present Day ~

 

The season continued to get colder, with the autumn leaves filling up the campus leaving the janitor with heavy work to keep it off the pathways, and the threat of heavy snowfall loomed over them. But it was not the weather on everyone’s minds: it was exams. Practice exams had arrived, forcing students to sit in huge halls on wobbly desks, scribbling on paper with spare pencils from a friend and wondering if they’d get kicked out of the course if they failed.

  
Luckily for Dan, there was no theory test for Music – not until the summer, at least. So he spent the first part of his week finishing up his project with Brian.

 

Dan was incredibly pleased that he was partnered up with the professor, because his project seemed to be going smoother and much better than the other groups. He had gotten over his illness, and booked a recording booth to go for vocals.

 

“ _How I wish, how I wish you were here._

_We're just two lost souls,_ _s_ _wimming in a fish bowl,  
Year after year.”_

 

Dan glanced up from the microphone in front of him very quickly, through the glass and towards Brian and a camera glaring behind him. He gave him a reassuring thumbs up and a proud grin, and Dan grinned happily and focused his attention to the microphone again.

 

 

(It had been Dan’s idea to make the required music video the recording sessions they had. The bonding between two music peers – not just a teacher and a student anymore, but two bandmates, two friends – seemed like an unorthodox yet touching story. Brian was pleased with how it was coming out. It looked like this was going to get the top grade.)

 

“ _Running over the same old ground,_  
And how we found,  
The same old fears.  
Wish you were here.”

 

A short while later, Dan stepped out of the recording booth with a modest smile on his face. Brian stood up and beamed.

 

“That was great!” He said, patting Dan’s shoulder which subsequently pulled into a hug, “That was phenomenal. I’m really proud of you, man. This is going to be awesome. Hey – we should put this online. Once exam season is over we’ll be able to.”

 

“I’d love to,” Dan replied enthusiastically, “You’re really good at making music, too. I’d love to make some more things with you.”

 

“Are you asking me to start a band with you?” Brian asked, raising his eyebrows, “Because the next part of your project is to create an original piece – we’re not required to perform it for the spec, _but…_ if you’re interested…?”

 

“Hell yeah, man! We make a good team.”

 

“Awesome! You brainstorm some band names and email me if you get any ideas. I was thinking something like Ninja Squadron… but doesn’t quite have that ring yet, you know?”

 

A couple days later, he had his first and only exam – Media. Sitting in his seat, listening to the quiet rustling of everyone getting into chairs and fiddling with pens, the examiner stood at the front and said, “You have 1 and a half hours. You may-”

 

“WAIT!”

 

The doors had crashed open and Arin stood at the door, panting. He flashed a grin at the faces that had turned to see the commotion, including Dan who was directly behind the doors and had to twist round in his seat.

 

“Sorry! I overslept. Am I late?” Arin yelled.

 

“Take your seat now, Mr Hanson,” the examiner sighed drearily, “And see to it that you won’t cause a further disruption.”

 

“Righty-ho. Sorry. I didn’t mean to.”

 

“That means being _silent_.”

 

Arin winked, clicking his fingers into a finger-gun and mouthed, “Gotcha.” He waved excitedly towards any friendly faces he spotted, and blew a kiss towards Dan.

 

“He’s stoned,” Suzy whispered who was placed next to Dan in the row next to him.

 

“When isn’t he?” Dan mumbled back and they shared a smile before turning to their papers.

 

It was strange for Dan, because he had never experienced much difficulty in exams. Whilst many complained about the noise, or the too little noise, or the amount of people, or the stress, and the horrible anxiety that had to lead them to take measures such as getting a private room, Dan found the most difficult thing in exams was the tough questions. It was like his brain shut off the entire world around him, and the only thing that mattered was the questions in front of him.

 

But then there was that one time, ages ago… back in high school, as he took a Maths paper, he suddenly felt an overwhelming surge of panic and stress that made tears prick his eyes, his hands go clammy and knuckles turn white. He did not say anything to the examiner, but instead endured 10 minutes of a panic attack before calming himself down with some anxiety reducing self-help tips and finished the paper in a messy blur.

 

It was only after he had totally finished his paper that he leaned away, closing it up and observed his environment, picking out friends around him. Suzy was deep in her paper, scribbling furiously; Barry sat in the near dead-centre of the hall, brow furrowed in deep concentration; Arin was snoozing on his desk and looked almost dead – Mark was in a similar situation. Holly was twirling her pen in her fingers, whilst Ross chewed absent-mindedly on his own, and Jack’s face was pink with frustration. Dan smiled to himself, shaking his head slightly, and continued with his paper.

 

Suddenly, a small noise perked Dan’s attention. He glanced up, looking around, but there was no disturbance. He moved to continue, but the noise occurred again, clearer and louder, muttering: “Penis.” Dan stifled a giggle, feeling his cheeks turn pink and looked around for the source of the noise. It came again, a slight bit louder: “Penis.” He looked over to see Mark rocking back and forward in his chair, gazing interestedly at the ceiling.

 

“Penis,” said another voice, this time from Arin. He then leaned over his paper, pretending to read frantically. People looked up at the source of the noise, and a few people giggled too. One of the examiners looked grey and stony-faced, whilst another stood from his chair and started to move down the aisles sternly.

 

“Penis,” Ross said loudly, then pushed his face towards the desk with a red blush. Dan forced down his laugh, finishing off his paper confidently.

 

“Penis,” another voice called out, one that Dan did not recognize. He realized that Arin might expect Dan to take a turn too. He scratched his nose, summoned his courage and said as loud as his bravery would allow him to: “Penis!”

 

He was pleased with the reception: a stifle of giggles, and Arin turning round in his seat to throw a sly wink. Dan smiled back, feeling his heart flutter.

 

“Can we please stop with whatever funny business is going on between you all?” The examiner called crossly, “Unless you all want to automatically fail-”

 

_PPFFFFFTTTTT._

 

A loud, ripping fart echoed around the hall and the entire hall started to giggle immaturely. Arin air-punched proudly and leant forward again, writing cheerfully with a beaming grin.

 

The examiner’s face turned steely and cold, but did not say anything.

 

“That was hard!” Barry said, catching up to Arin after the exam, “Did you get anything on newspapers? I tried my best but I couldn’t remember all the terms… I think I did really well on the film analysis part, what do you think?”

 

“Went great for me,” Dan nodded, “Did you listen to our little Penis game?”

 

“Oh yeah,” Barry nodded with a mischievous smile, “I participated too.”

 

“You did?!”

 

“Yeah. But my voice broke halfway through.”

 

Dan laughed and then felt arms jump around the back of his neck, hugging him tightly. Dan patted the large arms around him. “Hey, Arin! Nice fart you did there.”

 

“Hella yeah. I’ll give that an 11/10 for fucking sure. That’s a fart to go in history.”

 

The group all mingled together back at the tree, which had become their landmark for meeting. Midway through their break, Arin suddenly leapt to his feet and bellowed, “What a rad idea!”

 

“Huh?” Jack said, looking upward, “What is?”

 

Arin grabbed Barry by the back of his shirt collar, dragging him excitedly to his feet, who looked highly bashful. “Barry just came up with the greatest idea ever.”

 

“What’s that?” Mark asked, rolling up a joint.

 

“Secret Santa!” Arin announced, “Go on Barry – explain.”  


Barry’s cheeks had turned pink. It was probably his first time being in the spotlight in front of the entire group – he had always sort of been a background character, but everyone had still loved and adored him. “Well… it’s basically where we’ll all get a random person from a group, and we have to buy them a present. And then someone else will have you and will have to buy you a present – but you don’t know who that is, and the person you’re giving it to doesn’t know theirs either. I mean… I guess you could still buy presents for others too, if you want to! But it’s… just a fun thing I’ve always wanted to do.”

 

Suzy gave a whoop of celebration; Dan gave a thumbs up, and Ross yelled, “I hate everyone here.”

 

“Perk up, Ross!” Arin grinned, “Barry – get your notepad out and write down the names of everyone participating. If you wanna take part, raise your hand now!”

 

Everyone raised their hand. Mark suddenly yelled, “Hey! I know somebody who would want to join! Jack – go get Ethan.”

 

“Do it yourself, lazy-ass!”

 

“I’m rolling a doobie, dummy.”

 

“Oh, right. Sorry, boo.” He pulled out his phone and started texting frantically.

 

The following day, Barry texted everyone the names of their Secret Santa. Dan got Ross, which he was pretty pleased about – but he sort of wished it could have been Arin, which would have totally played a romantic convention.

 

He spent the day on the Internet, looking up things that Ross might like. Video games were out of the questions – he had been told that he had bought too many games, and hoped to play them all. Maybe video game _merch_ would be better.

 

At bout 7pm, he got a text from Arin, reading: “ _Yo big party at Coda’s tonight, wanna come?”_

 

Dan hesitated. However much he had been enjoying this chaotic and exciting life that Arin had, a huge party with a bunch of strangers was out of his comfort zone. He scratched his chin slightly, thinking. Maybe he could smoke a quick spliff so he didn’t get stoned but high enough to be social for a few hours…

 

_I’ll make sure u stay with me if you’re nervous_ , Arin added.

 

_Okay, sure,_ Dan replied.

 

_Sweet. Be outside in 10. Love you boo <3_

 

_Love you too Big Cat <3_

 

Dan pulled on his leather jacket, jeans and boots and picked out a spliff from his pre-rolled stash, as well as his pack of cigarettes and lighter. He met Arin outside, who was wearing a comfy hoodie with jeans, and Mark who was wearing a red checkered shirt. The two grinned at the spliff.

 

“It’s got tobacco in it,” Dan said, with a slight frown.

 

“Oh, then not for me then,” Mark replied, and gave a reassuring smile, “I had a few bong hits beforehand anyways.”

 

“Same!” Arin smiled, swinging an arm around Dan and giving a light kiss on his cheek, “Enjoy that to yourself, boo.”

 

Dan lit it and the group headed off, joined in matching steps as they headed out of campus, through the park and towards the apartment blocks. It was a huge block of apartments stretched out in three quarters of a square and a car park placed in the middle. On the ground level, an old woman was leaning out her window with a deep scowl and a cigarette, eyeing the college kids walk past crossly as they headed to the next level to Coda’s apartment. A deep base was booming and a gang of smokers were milled outside, clutching joints and cigarettes and drinking out of red plastic cups.

 

“Arin!” One of the boys yelled, moving forward and clapping Arin on the back with a grin, “Hey! You made it. I knew you were gonna turn up.”

 

“Of course,” Arin replied with a proud smile, “I _am_ the party, dude.”

 

“Mark, you’re here too! Sweet! And this – you’re Dan, right? You’re in my music class.” Dan suddenly recognized him as the punk-rock guy from his class. “Name’s Brett.”

 

“Good to meet you,” Dan smiled, and they shook hands. _Shaking hands?_ Dan thought to himself, wincing internally, _Aren’t you supposed to give a bro-hug or something? Is that what people do these days? God, I need to work on my social skills._

 

“Where’s my child?!” A voice bellowed excitedly through the crowd, “Where’s my beautiful son?!”

 

“Here, father!” Arin sang.

 

A teenager pushed through the crowd and bro-hugged Arin, bumping his chest into his. He was surprisingly small, with a dark leather jacket with patches sewn into them, baggy jeans and a beanie pulled over snowy-white hair, with bloodshot green eyes hiding behind a pair of shades. Coda Whiles did not look like the typical drug dealer nor the typical stoner, but it was his peculiarity, friendliness and mellow attitude that steered the drug users of the town towards him rather than getting anything off Buster whose products were larger, often cheaper but dirtier. Whilst Buster was a “deal and go” kind of guy, Coda would offer discounts and free stuff to his best customers and often invited his favourites round his apartment for a free sesh.

 

“My boy, look at you! All grown up.” He gave a beaming grin and ruffled Arin’s hair. “And Mark! My dude! It’s been too long.”

 

“Damn right,” Mark replied, “We gotta sesh again soon.”

 

“Fuck yeah! And you brought Danny along too! My best customer, I’ll say. How’s it going, brother?” He gave him some kind of bro-handshake – _that’s what I was meant to do then!_ \- and smiled, “So you dating my son, huh?”

 

“Yeah, I guess,” Dan replied, feeling his cheeks go pink.

 

“Good! You be good to him now, yeah?”

 

“I will.” He glanced at Arin, who lightly smiled bashfully back.

 

The party was already in full swing, with the room stinking of booze and pot. People were dancing with each other to an upbeat song; others were mingled in corners and against the wall, drinking and chatting; a group of stoners had a full smoke-up den set up with all the equipment needed; a particularly promiscuous woman exited the bathroom, pulling up her shorts and adjusting her very revealing crop-top as a boy shuffled out after her doing his zipper, his cheeks bright red.

 

“That’s Angel McKay,” Mark muttered to Dan, who had been glancing curiously at her, “She does this at every party. She reels in any guy she finds cute and bangs them in the bathroom, whether they want to or not. And any guy who wants to bang _her_ gets it too, whether she wants to or not.”

 

“What’s her game?”

 

“Who knows? Maybe she’s trying to make a track record of being the biggest slut in the world. She’s doing a good job.”

 

Angel swept her shiny blonde hair from her face and made eye-contact with Dan. A rush of blood ran to the face and he backed away quickly, hoping she wouldn’t try to lure him in. He turned round and collided foreheads with someone.

 

“Oh – sorry – hey, Ross!”

 

“Dan!” He grinned, and pulled him to the side by a wall. “Thank fuck. Ya gotta bust me out of this place, man. I didn’t even want to come, but some acquaintance of mine dragged me along and left me. Thank fuck I found a familiar face, honestly – I don’t know anyone at this stupid place.”

 

“Me neither, but Mark and Arin are here. They’re going round to friends, so – let’s just hang here and pretend we’re having fun, okay?”

 

Ross wrinkled his nose and sighed. “The way this shit is going, I kinda want to get high.”

 

“Do you?”

 

“I don’t know, really...”

 

“Well, I’m your guy if you ever do,” Dan grinned and Ross smiled happily.

 

A familiar tune suddenly started to play – an incredibly up-beat, downtown kind of song. It brought a huge wave of nostalgia – entering LA for the first time with his parents, gazing in wonder at the giant buildings glowing in the dark, the neon signs and the people still alive even in the night. He craned his neck through the crowd and saw Arin flash a beam at him, holding a phone connected to the speakers.

 

As the party hit its peak, the door crashed suddenly open. An excited voice bellowed: “Y’ALL BETTER COME SEE!”

 

“What’s happening, Drake?” A voice yelled back.

 

“Fuckin’ Sidney’s house on fire!”

 

“What?!” Dan gasped. He waited for a group of people to surge out the door, chatting excitedly, before bringing up the rear with Ross by his side.

 

(Since the argument Sidney had with Suzy on the day Dan first met the gang, and the recurring incidents with both Busters and Arin’s crew, his father had rented a townhouse for Sidney to live in. He lived alone, as far as everyone was aware of, but made out that he had room-mates that were “out of town”. Still, it wasn’t like Sidney was unpopular – he hosted parties that could match, or perhaps were even better than, Coda’s.)

 

“What’s going on?” Arin asked, bumping into Dan and holding his hand. Mark appeared next to him, looked puzzled as Arin was.

 

“Sidney’s place is on fire,” Dan answered, “By the excited tone – it looks like it wasn’t Sidney’s fault. I bet this is Buster’s revenge.”

 

When they arrived, it was disastrous. Smoke and fire were billowing out shattered windows, melting the white concrete into black. In front of the chaos was Sidney himself, stomping and raging with a tall, looming figure ahead of him talking to some police.

 

“That’s him, isn’t it?” Mark said interestedly, “Zeus himself. Sidney’s Dad.”

 

A wave of hatred rolled through Dan’s gut. The man turned his head and Dan caught his face through the flickering orange – a man with large wrinkles and a very narrows head, with boring peanut eyes and a fancy but plain business suit. Their eyes met, just for a second, sending a jolt of sick disgust in his gut, then he turned away.

 

“He’s the fucker that tried to bust you for drugs,” Arin snarled.

 

“Bust _us_ for drugs,” Dan corrected, “He’s controlling the school. He could kick us out anytime.”

 

The fire spread over the house. Sidney had tears streaming over his face as he raged and kicked. It wasn’t fair – it wasn’t his fault – his precious home had been destroyed…

 

“Sidney.” His father’s voice was dull and blank. “Did you say that it was a gang who did this?”

 

“Yes!” He bellowed, his eyes flaming, “It wasn’t me! I didn’t leave the bloody oven on or anything! It was probably Buster’s gang – or that stupid god damn Arin Hanson and his friends...”

 

“How do you know it was them?”

 

“I… they’re… they hate me! They’ve got a grudge against me, and probably think this was a stupid prank or something. Father – what are you going to do? Will I get a new house?”

 

“I can get you a mansion if I wanted,” he replied dully, “I could buy this whole town thrice over, if law and property wasn’t in the way. You’ll get a new place, and the police will investigate this. It’ll be their number one priority.” His voice lowered suddenly, cold and sinister. “ _But you won’t let this happen again, will you?_ ”

 

“I...”

 

“ _You’re not a coward, are you? Where’s the fighting spirit? If anything happens, you show them that you’re the goddamn owner of this town. I don’t want no son of mine to look like a humiliation under the Hickman name – understood?”_

 

“Y… Yes, sir.”

 

Mr Hickman stood up straight, brushed his thin, short brown-grey hair on his head and turned to the police. “I hope you’ll be able to assist my son, and fix this perpetrators for good.”

 

“What did you say the suspects name was again?” An officer asked.

 

“It’s Buster Clay,” Hickman replied, “And Arin Hanson.”


	7. City of Stars

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Christmas comes round and Mark hosts a party, but even some drama can't escape from there.

_Dating Arin has probably been one of the best things I have ever done. It always just feel so right being with him. I always have a huge laugh with him, cracking jokes and smoking pot… and I know he’s there to support me, and I am too. We haven’t had sex yet, though. He’s asked, but I said no. I told him I wasn’t ready yet. He says he doesn’t mind.  
But even though I love dating Arin, this socializing is really tiring. There’s not been a day where I haven’t seen someone, at least hanging out with one person, whether I’m going to a party with Arin or feeding birds in the park with Holly or playing video games with Barry. It’s fun but physically exhausting. Luckily I’ve almost totally cut-down on cigarettes now, I’m only on about 3 a day. Hopefully the cold winter won’t make me depressed and boost it back up to ten._

 

White snow had fluttered down from the sky last night, settling onto the campus leaving a fresh layer of a pure white sheet. Drops of snow slipped from the bare tree branches, plopping onto the ground; sparkling icicles hung from roof tiles, and any students milling about the campus were wrapped up in warm scarves, hats and coats.

 

Dan was listening to some relaxing music, pulling on a bong. He had binged a bunch of movies last night whilst high out of his mind, and ended up listening fondly to the  _La La Land_ soundtrack. He exhaled smoke, leant down on his comfy bed and exhaled, pulling on a dreamy smile and singing along:

 

“ _City of stars,”_ He sung softly, “ _Are you shining just for me?”_

 

The door to his room rapped loudly and he bolted up quickly, hiding his bong and spraying his room with air freshener. He pulled it open and relaxed.

 

“Arin,” he smiled, inviting his boyfriend in who kissed his cheek cheerfully, “Hey.”

 

“Wassup, boo? How’s it kicking? Been smokin’ the doobs? Whatcha listening to? Is that _La La Land_?”

 

“Oh.” Dan hurried to his stereo, pausing is hastily and his cheeks going pink. “I was just… practising some singing.”

 

Arin sprinted over to the stereo, whacking up the volume and twirling over to Dan. He grabbed his hand and started to dance to the song, not in his usual mad and bouncy way but like a traditional ballroom dancer. He sang along to the song with a soft, cheerful voice: “ _Who knows? Is this the start of something wonderful and new?_ ”

 

He span Dan round, who giggled a little bit and replied back in a softer, sadder voice:

  
“ _Or one more dream that I cannot make true?_ ”

 

The song faded out and Arin paused, his nose and forehead crinkling suddenly. “I came in here for something but I forgot.” Dan chuckled and then he snapped his fingers. “That’s it! We’re going to Mark’s room. He’s got a Christmas party – I hope you got your Secret Santa present!”

 

“I do,” Dan replied, “Don’t look. I don’t want to ruin the surprise.”

 

“Is it me?”

 

“I can’t say!”

 

Dan pulled out all the gifts he had compiled into a large rucksack – which included a small framed artwork of Stardew Valley that he had bought online (which featured the woman he had married, Hayley, a blonde and stunning woman) – and all the others gifts for the people invited to the Christmas party. He turned round and saw Arin looking into the mirror, playing with his hair. It had grown long, reaching just pass his neck and flowing beautifully down, the long blonde streak following it down. His dark eyes met Dan’s in the mirror and smiled.

 

“I might tie my hair up,” Arin said, pulling it up in a fist and stretching it back, “What do you think?”

 

“You look cute with it up,” Dan replied, tilting his head, “And handsome when it’s down. Like… more mature.”

 

“Help me tie it up.”

 

Dan pulled Arin on the sofa, letting him sit on his lap, whilst he fiddled with a hair tie and pulling it into a man bun. Arin’s hair was luxuriously soft and fluffy, like he was stroking a dog - compared to Dan’s unruly mane of a Jew-fro.

 

“Thanks, boo,” Arin smiled, leaning over to peck Dan on the nose. Dan felt himself go pink, and suddenly pressed his lips into Arin’s neck.

 

“I really love you, Danny,” Arin whispered, leaning into Dan’s chest.

 

“And I love you too, Arin.”

 

Eventually, they had to pull away and head to Arin’s room to grab the presents he had bought, then they headed  to Mark’s dorm. Everyone had already arrived when Mark pulled open the door with a warm grin – Jack was clinging at Mark’s side, Barry was squashed in a bean bag talking happily with Ethan,  Ross was absorbed in his phone and Holly and Suzy were chatting happily to each other. A new face had also appeared among them  (Mark had texted someone new would be attending but had not said who): an awkward but happy looking man with rough stubble, large glasses and a cap. 

 

“Dan, you haven’t met Vernon, right?” Mark said, guiding him towards the man. Vernon stood up and stuck out a hand, smiling warmly.

 

“Hey,” Dan said, shaking his hand, “Nice to meet you.”

 

“And you too. Arin’s said a lot about you – I’ve just been to wrapped up in some big filming projects and haven’t really had time to meet you or anyone else.”

 

“You study Media?”

 

“Oh no – I do Film Studies, it’s a bit different. Because… well, we do 100% films. I, er – I’m actually working on a project right now, we’re doing a short film on a modern-era _Lord of the Flies –_ we need quite a lot of people, so if you fancy getting a role… hit me up.”

 

“I will. It’s a great book.”

 

“Enough chit-chat, kiddos,” Arin called out, balancing himself on a beanbag to attain leadership and attention but sinking deep into it instead, “And Ross, get off your damn phone.” He gave up on the beanbag, and just made himself stand tall. Everyone settled and gave Arin and Mark their attention.

 

“Well, it’s almost the end of the year,” Mark spoke, looking among them all, “And nearly the beginning of a new one. Last year, we were only five – our small bean Ethan, birb girl Holly, sadistic ass Ross -”

 

“Hey!”

 

“- and our Irish gay.” He winked at Jack, who kissed the air back. “And now, we are very fortunate to have some more awesome faces here. The awesome Arin Hanson, the wonderful Suzy Berhow, the brilliant Vernon Shaw, our Jewish bro Dan Avidan, and not forgetting the one who gave us the idea for the Secret Santa – Barry Kramer.” There was a smattering of applause and a whoop as Barry blushed modestly. “And let us hope that our faces and numbers will continue to grow. It’s been awesome having you all around. Any words to add before we start Secret Santa, Arin?”

 

Arin sniffed, raised himself tall and said loudly: “I’d like to finish this off with a haiku.” He cleared his throat loudly and spoke, stretching each syllable (Dan noticed he was counting with his fingers behind his back): “Dan-iel Av-i-dan… you – are – the – gay-est, uh… butt-face… it’s – snow- ing – on – Mount – Fuji.”

 

The room burst into whoops and applauds, yelling in delight. Arin bowed himself out.

 

The Secret Santa presents came around first – the group sat in a circle, with the presents in the middle, and after opening their present had to guess who had given it to them. They started with who had pooped last which was Arin. He opened his to find a manga copy of the original signed copy of the first volume of  _Sailor Moon_ manga.

 

“Shit, who knows I read manga?” Arin hissed, looking among them, “Who knows I liked Sailor Moon? Was it you, Suzy?”

 

Suzy giggled and nodded. Arin grinned and high-fived her. “You’re the fucking coolest!”

 

Dan opened up his present next and smiled, letting out a cute “awh”: it was a CD, with the front cover showing a handsome picture of Dan with writing saying: “Dan’s Radical Mixtape”. The back listed 20 of Dan’s all-time favourite songs.

 

“I don’t know!” Dan whined, “It could be any of you! Everyone knows I like music.”

 

“Just make a random guess,” Mark shrugged.

 

“Okay… er… Jack?”

 

It was not Jack. It was Barry. Dan leaned over the circle, grabbing his friend by the neck and ruffling his hair.

 

“I found your Spotify,” Barry explained, hugging him back, “And picked out most of the songs on your ‘Danny’s favs’ playlist.”

 

“I love it,” Dan replied in delight, “I love _you_ , man!”

 

The presents continued to circle round, first giving out their Secret Santa presents and then passing it round to everyone else. Dan had bought a gift for everyone present, even Vernon. He gave Barry a Gameboy Colour as well as a selection of games including _Pokemon Red_ and _Legend of Zelda: Links Awakening_ ; he gave Suzy a beautiful dark blue dress; Holly, a plushie of Pidove which she had been searching for for ages; Jack received a huge Team Ico poster, which included games of _Ico, Shadow of the Colossus_ and _The Last Guardian_ ; he bought Mark a spin-the-shot game; to Ethan, a baby blue ukulele; and Vernon received a portable mobile gaming system.

 

Arin was the last one to swap presents – of course they left it until last, it had to be a romantic cliché. The pair sat cross-legged in front of each other, each clutching neatly wrapped gifts. (Dan had been surprised at how neat the presents had been – he had expected a messy wrap with cheap paper, just like Ross’s gifts, but they were in smooth boxes tied gently with silk ribbons). Arin carefully opened the box to reveal an LED board. Arin tilted it curiously.

 

“You attach it to your alarm clock,” Danny explained, “And you can write little messages on it. Like, you know… ‘Good morning!’ or ‘Don’t forget to smile!’”

 

“Or I can draw a penis!”

 

“… Or that.”

 

Underneath was another box. Arin pulled it open and grinned, and took out a CD. Dan had made another mixtape – it was simply titled: _Arin._ It had one of Arin’s best pictures on it, taken by Suzy a while ago with a camera, who was laughing happily. The back showed some of Arin’s favourite songs.

 

“You’re the cutest,” Arin beamed with a soft smile.

 

“Ssh.”

 

“Thank you,” he muttered, leaning over and kissing Dan’s cheek.

 

Arin passed his own gift over, and Dan excitedly pulled it open. He pulled out the first present, lying on top of a larger box – a strange, green object with a button.

 

“What is it?” Dan asked suspiciously.

 

“Press it.”

 

Dan pressed it – and a loud yodel emitted from it. Dan bellowed with laughter and Arin joined in, explaining between laughs: “It’s a yodelling pickle!”

 

“What the fuck?!” Dan laughed, “You’re crazy!”

 

“That’s not all. Open the last one. _Carefully_.”

 

Dan gingerly took out the box and opened it, with a slight gasp. A green plant emerged, it’s spiky jaws wide open. The Venus Flytrap was primed and ready for killing.

 

“I know you’re very fond of King Prick,” Arin said, smiling bashfully, “So I got him a new friend.”

 

“I love him,” Dan replied, lifting it up curiously, tilting it around, “He’s my new child. Thanks, Arin.” He leant over and kissed him gently on the lips.

 

“Get a room!” Ross yelled, suddenly landing in-between them in a wrestle with Jack. Arin and Dan jumped back to avoid the pair play-fighting, laughing.

 

The music kicked off, but none of them felt like dancing; it was more for some background noise, or something to impress people passing by at the private party being hosted. A few particularly mean-looking people attempted to crash it, but were herded off by Mark and Arin who feigned friendliness.

 

“Sorry! VIP party! Unless you have proof of an invitation...”

 

“Just let us in, innit!”

 

“No can do!”

 

“Hey – Dan?”

 

Dan turned around to Ross. His face looked serious. He beckoned Dan over to a corner, away from everyone else, and spoke in a low tone.

 

“I’ve been looking through some emails from Cooper,” Ross said, looking to the side nervously to avoid eaves-droppers, “Just keeping tabs on anything Sidney might be planning… it’s been weird. He’s been buying a lot of stuff – like, _weird_ stuff. There was that ammonium nitrate a while ago… now it’s flash powder, black powder, _hunting rifles…_ what do you think?”

 

“What else?” Dan replied darkly, “I reckon Cooper’s planning to blow something up. Maybe he’s planning a school shooting. We should report this.”

 

“No, we shouldn’t,” Ross replied, “For one, if we say anything then I’ll get in trouble for hacking. Zero-tolerance establishment, you know? And secondly, the establishment is broken and corrupt anyways – Cooper works under the Principal who works under Mr Hickman. They’ll cover it up – hide it – hell, maybe Sidney is the one planning this.”

 

“W… What? What do you mean?”

 

“Maybe… maybe Sidney is using Cooper as a decoy to buy all this stuff, and he’s going to blow it up himself.”

 

“But why would he shoot up the school? His Dad is the one who owns it – he won’t get anything from it!”

 

“Yeah… I mean, that was just a dumb assumption.”

 

Dan pushed his bony, thin hands through his curls and sighed. Ignorance really was bliss. This was a dangerous mess of affairs that they were getting themselves into.

 

“We should investigate Sidney though,” Dan decided, stretching his shoulders, “Maybe he does know something. We know he’s at least got a strong contact with him, so…”

 

“Right. I’ll look into it. Maybe you and Arin can tie him up onto a chair and beat him until he talks.”

 

“Ross!”

 

“Just kidding!”

 

The party continued: the group sat around and talked, played spin-the-bottle (which included Mark aggressively making out with Jack, and Suzy nervously pecking Holly on the cheek), had a Smash Bros. tournament and even had a cheesy slow-dance together.

 

The party started to die down by 2am as people started to get tired. Suzy had already headed back to her dorm and Barry was passing out on a bean-bag. Everyone else curled up on the bed, in armchairs or spare beanbags finishing off bongs or bottles. Dan slid past Vernon, smiling warmly, and squeezed past Ethan to get Arin’s attention.

 

“I’m going for a fag outside,” Dan said, “I’ll be back in about 5 minutes.”

 

“Okay. Have fun. Get off ‘em soon.”

 

“I’m trying, boo. Love ya.” He kissed his boyfriend, ducked out of the group and headed outside.

 

The sky outside was glowing a deep blue, and the stars winked above his head. He whistled to himself as he lit up his cigarette,  and mumbled quietly with the stick between his teeth: “ _City of stars, Are you shining just for me?_ ”

 

His phone buzzed. He pulled the cigarette away from  his teeth, blowing out smoke and feeling the rush of nicotine; his phone buzzed again, and he pulled it from his pocket to check. It was from an unknown number.

 

_You kno that the pigs were on ur bros ass? You’re off the hook now._

 

_It’s Buster btw_

 

Buster? Dan’s brow furrowed as he text back:

 

_Why were the police on me?_

 

The reply was almost instant.

 

_Nah not u, on Arin. Sidney blamed his fire on him and me but they had no proof so ur all okay thanks to me._

 

Dan stuck the cigarette between his teeth, inhaling carefully as he texted back.

 

_Thanks man, but why’d you do it? Thought you hated Arin_

 

_I used to but he’s kind of ok now. So are you g why don’t u and ur crew hang with mine some time?_

 

Dan pulled a little too much on his cigarette and coughed, heaving his chest. He texted back, full of suspicion.

 

_Why should I trust you man? Didn’t you try beat my friend some time ago?_

 

_We were just messin around and was Sids idea anyway. We’re done with that kid and I kno u hate him, so we should hook up and try kick ass sometime. You in?_

 

Dan hesitated, blowing out some more smoke, before replying.

 

_I’ll think about it._

 

He stomped out his cigarette, and rejoined the rest of the party.

 


End file.
